BTLW300832 Food safety and risk management

Type
Lecture and seminar
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Bücher, Carola , Wagner, Eva
Organisation
Biotechnology and Food Science
Offered in
Wintersemester 2025/26
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

This seminar consists of an introductory lecture covering the fundamentals of food safety and risk management, followed by an interactive seminar based on a multi-week crisis simulation.

Students are assigned to stakeholder groups (e.g., consumers, producers, governmental organizations, media, NGOs) and collaboratively manage a simulated food safety crisis. The course explicitly integrates gender- and diversity-sensitive perspectives: food safety is addressed not only as a technical issue, but as a societal negotiation process shaped by diverse actors, unequal access to resources, and differing vulnerabilities.

The simulation is designed as a multiperspective and diversity-sensitive learning environment. Students work in balanced and diverse groups and engage with stakeholder roles that reflect a broad range of social positions and interests. A deliberately fictional setting is used to create a discrimination-sensitive space and to avoid the reproduction of stereotypes, while still enabling critical reflection on power relations, structural inequalities, and global disparities (e.g., between European contexts and the Global South).

Diversity aspects are further embedded through:
•representation of diverse identities (e.g., gender, age, cultural background) in teaching materials and role profiles
•critical analysis on how food safety risks and crisis impacts differ across social groups
•inclusion of global perspectives on food systems and risk governance
Previous knowledge expected

Fundamental food science, food chemistry, food microbiology and hygiene, quality management, fluent English.
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

Students are able to:
•participate in discussions about food safety and risk management using correct terminology
•identify key stakeholders and analyse their roles, interests, and responsibilities in crisis situations
•analyse on how gender, diversity, and socio-economic factors influence risk perception, vulnerability, and decision-making in food safety contexts
•assess food safety challenges from multiple perspectives, including underrepresented and marginalized groups
•apply inclusive and diversity-aware approaches to communication and decision-making in crisis scenarios
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.