Master's Degree in Nutrition, Technology and Food Safety

The socio-economic importance of the agri-food sector, in Spain, the European Union as a whole and in numerous other countries, requires the existence of qualified professionals with adequate training and capacity to integrate within the departments of the agri-food industries.

The Master's Degree in Nutrition, Technology and Food Safety from the Universidad de Murcia consists of a total of 60 ECTS to be taken by the student (30 compulsory ECTS, 12 optional ECTS, 6 ECTS of Practicum and 12 ECTS of Master's Thesis) whatever the itinerary (professional or academic / researcher). The offer of subjects has been organized in a total of eight modules distributed in two semesters.

The Master in Nutrition, Technology and Food Safety aims to provide advanced and multidisciplinary scientific training in the field of Human Nutrition, Food Technology and Food Safety in order to train professionals who can take actions to improve the quality of subjects. raw and finished food products, always seeking the development of a production and distribution system for safe food, nutritionally adequate and attractive to the consumer.

The Master is designed for the student to complete a total of 60 credits in one or two academic courses (depending on the dedication to said studies, and in order to facilitate the incorporation of people who are carrying out a professional activity) offering two orientations: professional or academic / researcher. The student who opts for the professional orientation will be prepared to join different departments of quality, food safety, production, logistics, nutrition or R + D + i of companies in the agri-food sector, of great importance both regionally, nationally and internationally. . On the other hand, if the academic / research itinerary is chosen, the student will acquire the ability to work autonomously or as a team in a public or private research center specialized in food quality control in any of its facets (nutritional, technology, food safety, sensory, etc.).

Master's file

Justification

• It constitutes an offer of postgraduate studies that provides scientific and investigative training to a wide group of degrees (Veterinary, Food Science and Technology, Pharmacy, Agricultural Engineer, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Agricultural Technical Engineer and their foreign equivalents). Regardless of the training of the students who take this program, they show a clear interest in scientific research and professional activity within the field of Food Science and Technology, which is why it constitutes a demand response towards society.
• The location in Murcia of various public food research centers (CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia Institute of Food Research and Development-IMIDA and the Conservation Technology Center) requires the existence of official master's degrees that subsequently allow the passage to training of Doctorate in this scientific-technical field. We consider that this initial training for research must be specific, in order to respond to the demands made by researchers at these centers.
• The socio-economic importance of the agri-food sector, as well as the development and modernization of these companies within our Region of Murcia and neighboring areas, requires the existence of qualified professionals with adequate training and capacity to integrate within the departments of the agri-food industries. .
• The great changes that have occurred in the field of food (changes in dietary patterns, the appearance of new foods, the growing interest in certain nutrients, new processing technology, new packaging materials, food biotechnology, etc.), arouses great interest in professionals in this sector, who require updating in different aspects.
• The current public regional, national and European research aid programs include specific programs for research in this field, which determines their importance in the selected priority lines and the need to train researchers in this field.
• The Department provides simultaneous teaching in various degree studies, which favors the incorporation of own graduates to it. In addition, considering the European framework of University Education, the Department is a benchmark for the organization and realization of official master's degrees that will later be given by specialized students to carry out Doctoral studies.

Vitalii Pavlyshynets / Unsplash

Competencies

The specific competences of the Master's Degree are:

• Ability to design and develop quality and environmental management in a food company according to different international models.
• Ability to carry out internal quality and environmental audits in food companies.
• Knowledge of the organization and management of a food company.
• Knowledge of legislative updates on food.
• Ability to identify a significant question or hypothesis on a topic or problem and formulate the objectives, design and monitoring of a project to address its solution.
• Ability to manage statistical programs for data analysis and to discuss and obtain coherent conclusions from the results obtained.
• Be able to write a scientific communication related to the research work in English.
• Ability to use and validate food analysis techniques.
• Ability to apply advanced food and ingredient analysis to quality control at any stage of production, storage or distribution.
• Ability to correctly acquire, process and express the results of a food analysis according to food specifications and standards.
• Know the latest data from international and national food safety management organizations, as well as the functions and strategies in cases of food alerts or crises.
• Ability to analyze in depth the dangers and evaluate the microbiological, chemical, physical and technological, and nutritional risks that may influence the safety of a food.
• Being able to apply different predictive microbiology models in evaluating the risk associated with a specific food and process.
• Know the new ingredients with the ability to increase the commercial life and safety of food products.
• Ability to choose the most appropriate technologies to apply in the elaboration of a specific product.
• Being able to design a new food integrating technological, food safety, nutritional and sensorial aspects, taking into account the criteria established by legislation.
• Ability to select the most appropriate packaging and packaging technology based on the characteristics of the food and shelf life.
• Advanced knowledge of emerging technologies in the field of Food Technology and their application in the food industry.
• Ability to use ICTs in the nutritional evaluation and design of new diets.
• Ability to interpret in depth the results obtained in epidemiological studies and to apply them to improve well-being and health.
• Ability to quantify and verify by advanced methods the biological activity of a compound added to, or naturally present in, a food.
• Ability to estimate the bioavailability of a micronutrient by demonstrating skills acquired in the laboratory and skills in data management.
• Demonstrate good oral and written communication skills to present the results of a job, including the Master's Thesis, in an efficient, clear and concise manner.

The following competences are related to professional orientation (CE24) and Research (CE25), and emanate from the objectives set for the Practicum module:

• Being able to integrate the acquired knowledge to design, control food production lines, manage total, nutritional or sanitary quality in a food company.
• Ability to carry out research independently, promoting teamwork, the use of resources and the application of the knowledge acquired during the course.

Admission profile

This master's degree is aimed at Graduates and Graduates who want to specialize in the field of Food Sciences. For this reason, it requires the following entry profile in relation to higher studies carried out by future students:

• Graduates or Graduates in: Veterinary, Food Science and Technology, Pharmacy and Agricultural Engineer. (Modification ANECA 01-25-2012).
• Graduates or Graduates in: Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Technical Agricultural Engineer.

Students who have completed the foreign equivalents of these studies will also have access to the master's studies, after checking the equivalent level of training for access.

Being able to integrate the acquired knowledge to design, control food production lines, manage nutritional or sanitary quality in a food company.

Ability to carry out research independently, promoting teamwork, the use of resources and the application of the knowledge acquired during the course.

Graduation profile

In relation to the graduation profile, the student who opts for the professionalizing option will be prepared to join different departments of quality, food safety, production, logistics, nutrition or R & D & I of companies in the agri-food, regional, national and international.

The student who chooses the academic / research itinerary will be prepared to work autonomously or as a team, in a public or private research center specialized in food quality control in any of its facets (nutritional, technological, food safety, sensory , etc.). In addition, students who complete this itinerary will be able to access the Doctoral Program to complete the Doctoral Thesis.