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BAU trains students in Food Safety

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Published: 04:59, 22 June 2017   Update: 15:18, 26 July 2020
BAU trains students in Food Safety

Desk Report: Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) plan to enroll students in a new undergraduate BSc course in Food Safety Management.

The University is partnering with the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) to train new generations of food safety experts. The course is being developed with the financial assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“In order to meet the needs of our rapidly expanding food processing and manufacturing sector, we need technically qualified and professionally competent safe food officersto verify compliance with food regulations” said MrMdMahfuzul Hoque, Chairman of the Government's Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA)  “This new course in food safety management will ensure that we have a steady supply of qualified graduates to satisfy the requirements of the official food control sector” the Chairman said. He stressed that the BFSA fully supports the development of this important undergraduate degree course.

One of the compelling drivers for designing a new food safety educational programme is to fulfil the country's ambitions to reach middle-income status by 2021. There is an urgent need to align the food safety regulations and standards of Bangladesh with the requirements of international trading partners and the World Trade Organization. The new BSc in Food Safety Management is designed to be dynamic so that it both keeps pace with innovations in the agri-food sector and is flexible enough to adapt to evolving developments in food control.

Professor Dr Md Ali Akbar, Honourable Vice-Chancellor of BAU, believes that Bangladesh needs to develop a modern food regulatory structure that will meet consumer’s expectations of food safety. According to the Vice-Chancellor, a key component of this will be government’s ability to put controls in place to ensure compliance with food standards and regulations. “The new BSc course will deliver a tailored and proportionate approach to food business compliance, including ensuring that government resources focus on those areas that pose the greatest risk to public health” the Vice-Chancellor said.

Speaking at a recent workshop with the Deans from all the Faculties at the BAU, DIT's Fintan Moran made reference to the Food Safety Act 2013 and said "We need to train students in the requirements of international food regulations and modern methods of food control.” DIT is providing not only technical assistance, but is also supporting some of the financial costs of curriculum development.

FAO is pleased to partner with BAU and DIT on this exciting initiative. "Choosing to specialize in food safety is probably one of the smartest career investments a student can pursue in Bangladesh," according to Dr. Sue Lautze, FAO's Representative in Bangladesh. "The public and private sector demand for this specialization will continue to outpace supply for the foreseeable future," Lautze added.

The new BSc in Food Safety Management is expected to be open for enrolment for the first batch of students in January 2018.


risingbd/Dhaka/Jun 22, 2017/Uzzal/Nasim

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