Course Description

Food safety is a global issue as contaminated food causes widespread health problems with serious implications for families as well as public healthcare systems. It also causes reduced workforce productivity. Both developed and developing countries share concerns over food safety as international food trade and cross-border movements of people increase.

There is an urgent need to put in place sound FSMS through building reliable, safe food supply chains. The situation of food safety in many developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region, however, is not up to the mark. This is attributed to a lack of awareness of its socioeconomic significance and lack of understanding of basic concepts, tools, and techniques of food safety good agricultural practices (GAP), such as good hygiene practices (GHP), good manufacturing practices (GMP), and hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP). The limited pool of trainers and experts providing training and consultancy in this field, and high cost of implementing the requirements relating to food safety, especially for SMEs, are also among the major challenges.

This course is being organized to train a critical mass of individuals in APO member countries in acquiring and applying basic knowledge of FSMS.

 Course Instruction

– There are 9 modules in this course. Please start with Module 1 and complete each module in order.
– The recommended timeline to complete each module is:

Days 1-3: Module 1+ Quiz 1
Days 4-8: Module 2+ Quiz 2
Days 9–11: Module 3+ Quiz 3
Days 12–16: Module 4 + Quiz 4
Days 17–19: Module 5+ Quiz 5
Days 20–25: Module 6 + Quiz 6
Day 26-29: Module 7 + Module 7
Day 26-29: Module 8 + Module 8
Day 30: Module 9: Exam

– To confirm your understanding, 3 quizzes are provided. Please answer the questions and check your score for self-evaluation. Please note that the quiz scores have no connection with the final exam results.
– It is recommended that you proceed to the next module only after satisfactory completion of the preceding module.
– After completing all modules, each participant should take the final exam. Remember that you are only allowed to take the final exam once. Please ensure that you have thoroughly understood all modules before taking the final exam.

 Course Objectives

1. To provide food safety management practitioners with good knowledge of fundamental food safety management systems (FSMS) concepts, principles, tools, techniques, food safety regulations, and critical success factors for SMEs; and
2. To acquaint the participants with the design and management requirements associated with the application and implementation of basic FSMS in food industry.

 Important Notes:

1. Participants who register to take this course and pass the final examination with a score of 70% or higher will be eligible to receive the APO certificate. Please note that the final examination can be taken only once. Therefore, you decide when you choose to take the examination. Please note that the self-assessment quizzes are for your own evaluation and have no connection with the final examination results.

2. Participants who perform well in this course and receive the APO certificate will be given preference, on a merit basis, for selection to attend the follow-up face-to-face multicountry APO project, provided their nominations are received through the concerned NPOs and slots are available.

3. Notes 2 are applicable only to participants from APO member countries. Participants from nonmember countries are welcome to take the course for self-improvement, though they will not get an opportunity to attend the follow-up face-to-face multicountry APO projects.