Food Science & Agricultural Chemistry: Food Safety (Non-Thesis) (M.Sc.) (45 credits)
Offered by: Food Science&Agr.Chemistry (Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)
Degree: Master of Science
Program credit weight: 45
Program Description
The program is intended to train graduate students as specialists in food safety with the expectation that graduates will be well prepared academically to take on the challenging food safety events and issues that emerge both in Canada and globally. The program will cover food safety through the entire food supply chain from food production through processing/manufacturing to the food consumer; the courses which make up the program reflect the food safety considerations at the different stages of the farm to table food supply chain.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (12 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FDSC 545 | Advances in Food Microbiology. | 3 |
Advances in Food Microbiology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An advanced level food microbiology course providing a perspective on advanced topics in food microbiology (microbial biofilms, antimicrobial resistance, bacterial endospores) and describing the fundamental principles of advanced techniques in food microbiology (microbiological, biochemical, immunological, genetics methods). | ||
| FDSC 624 | Current Food Safety Issues. | 3 |
Current Food Safety Issues. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Examining current and emerging food safety issues and concerns as they occur, including food recalls, in the context of food safety hazards and health risk, food laws and regulations, food industry standards and practices. | ||
| FDSC 626 | Food Safety Risk Assessment. | 3 |
Food Safety Risk Assessment. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Food safety risk assessment as a key component of the risk analysis framework. Various aspects of the risk assessment process including planning, conducting and reviewing a risk assessment. | ||
| FDSC 634 | Food Toxins and Toxicants. | 3 |
Food Toxins and Toxicants. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Toxins and toxicant residues in food are explored from an analytical perspective. New techniques of analysis and strategies are emphasized. | ||
Research Project (12 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FDSC 697 | M.Sc. Project Part 1. | 6 |
M.Sc. Project Part 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 A critical review of the current state of knowledge of some aspect of Food Science or Technology. | ||
| FDSC 698 | M.Sc. Project Part 2. | 6 |
M.Sc. Project Part 2. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 A critical review of the current state of knowledge of some aspects of Food Science or Technology. | ||
Complementary Courses (15 credits)
3 credits chosen from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| FDSC 695 | M.Sc. Graduate Seminar 1. | 3 |
M.Sc. Graduate Seminar 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Presentation on a selected topic, research proposal or research results based on progress in degree work (M.Sc.1). | ||
| FDSC 696 | M.Sc. Graduate Seminar 2. | 3 |
M.Sc. Graduate Seminar 2. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Presentation on a selected topic, research proposal or research results based on progress in degree work (M.Sc.2). | ||
12 credits chosen from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGRI 510 | Professional Practice. | 3 |
Professional Practice. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The ethical issues that face a professional in the workplace; professional ethics and deontology, professional responsibilities as related to the laws of labour, health, safety and risks to the environment, risk management and communication. | ||
| BREE 535 | Food Safety Engineering. | 3 |
Food Safety Engineering. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The application of engineering principles to address microbial and chemical safety challenges in food processing, including intervention technologies (traditional and novel non-thermal intervention technologies, chemical interventions, and hurdle approach); control, monitoring and identification techniques (biosensors); packaging applications in food safety (active packaging, intelligent or smart packaging); and tracking and traceability systems. | ||
| FDSC 525 | Food Quality Assurance. | 3 |
Food Quality Assurance. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The principles and practices required for the development, maintenance and monitoring of systems for food quality and food safety. The concepts and practices of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point; ISO 9000; Total Quality Management; Statistical Sampling Plans, Statistical Process Control; Tools of Quality; Government Regulations. | ||
| FDSC 536 | Food Traceability. | 3 |
Food Traceability. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Concepts and processes associated with the identification, tracking and tracing food forward and backward through the food continuum. | ||
| FDSC 555 | Comparative Food Law. | 3 |
Comparative Food Law. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An introduction to food law. The transformations that food law is undergoing as a consequence of social, economic and technological changes, the regulation of food risks and consumers' rights to be informed (labeling, health claims, nutritional information). | ||
| NUTR 512 | Herbs, Foods and Phytochemicals. | 3 |
Herbs, Foods and Phytochemicals. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An overview of the use of herbal medicines and food phytochemicals and the benefits and risks of their consumption. The physiological basis for activity and the assessment of toxicity will be presented. Current practices relating to the regulation, commercialization and promotion of herbs and phytochemicals will be considered. | ||
| OCCH 612 | Principles of Toxicology. | 3 |
Principles of Toxicology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. General principles of toxicology, routes of toxicant entry, human organs as targets of toxic action, adverse effects, time-course of reactions to toxicants. Risk assessment techniques, in vivo-in vitro toxicity models, links between human population observations and animal, cellular and biochemical models. | ||
| PARA 515 | Water, Health and Sanitation. | 3 |
Water, Health and Sanitation. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The origin and types of water contaminants including live organisms, infectious agents and chemicals of agricultural and industrial origins. Conventional and new technological developments to eliminate water pollutants. Comparisons of water, health and sanitation between industrialized and developing countries. | ||
Elective Courses (6 credits)
At the 500 level or higher, and selected in consultation with the academic adviser.