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Consumer’s and Environmental Safety: Food Packaging and Kitchenware

We work with leading higher education institutions and food companies to develop and offer exciting programmes to help individuals with their career in the food system.

Objectives

Learn how some kitchenware can affect your health.

Food safety is highly regulated. Yet, one blind spot is the migration of molecules from contact materials in kitchenware into food. Particular attention needs to be placed on chemicals present at low doses but acting on the endocrine system over a long time.

On this course, you’ll learn about these endocrine disrupters and their potential impact on human health and the environment.

You’ll evaluate how chemicals can migrate from packaging and slowly affect our endocrine health, and how tests can check for safety. Ultimately, you’ll better understand how we can improve food safety in general.

This course is for anyone interested in potential health risks derived from food packaging and kitchenware, and in particular from chemicals migrating from packaging into food and drink. This could include healthcare workers, parents, pregnant women, and anyone with an interest in health and food safety.

Advantages

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Reflect on the importance of safe food packaging and kitchenware in your daily life and choices
  • Evaluate how chemicals can migrate from packaging and slowly affect our endocrine health
  • Assess how chemical and biological tests are done and evaluate their importance for safety
  • Describe the professional roles of all stakeholders in the business of food safety in general
  • Discuss the topics of the course with increased knowledge and contribute to global awareness
  • Interpret information and news with increased critical sense, especially when dealing with consumers’ health and protection

Duration & Dates

Flexible

Audience & Eligibility

Anyone with an interest in health and food safety

Level

Beginner

Price

Free

Language

English

Registration Open & Seats

Open

Location

Online

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Structure & Modules

Week 1: Food packaging, its material and the issue of migration

  • What is packaging? What for?
  • Chemical analyses and the issue of migration
  • The detection of unwanted chemicals in our food

Week 2: Migrating chemicals: is there a health concern?

  • Chemical analyses and biological analyses
  • The need of statistics and epidemiology when dealing with human
  • The suspected action of migrating chemicals on our hormonal health

Week 3: Biotests their use in research and for monitoring

  • Biological tests and current reseach on EDCs
  • How is research on endocrine interference proceeding?

Week 4: Innovations that improve the system

  • The search for novel packaging materials - the bioplastics
  • Who conducts research? Who pays for it?
  • The position of the food industry

Week 5: Consumers, Science, Health and Society

  • The ideal flow of activity to protect health and environment
  • Finding an equilibrium among stakeholders
  • The difficult task of the legislator and of regulatory agencies

Quotes

Helen Gray

An excellent course, well presented with sufficient depth of material to inform and to inspire further research.

Programme lead

Profile image 8a946087 5ea8 4cbe 9462 7406c7882a42
Giorgio Roberto Merlo

Professor at the Department of Biotechnology of the University of Torino

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