ABSTRACT

The post degree training of the veterinary hygienist

M. L. Cortesi & A. Anastasio

Published online: 6 August 2008# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2008

Abstract Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 states that each stage of production- from theprimary production to the processing and distribution of feed and food- must be consideredas a unique process, as each stage has a potential impact on food safety, animal health, planthealth and environment. Aim of this paper is to discuss the different instruments andobjectives of post-degree training of the veterinary hygienist and the ways that these mayenable him/her to become updated, informed and competent in order to manage thedifferent problems of food production in relation to the implications of the total food chainand not only of single stages and to apply the proper control measures at each step in orderto protect human health.

Keywords Food hygiene . Post-degree . Training . Veterinarians

AbbreviationsECM Continuing Medical EducationHACCP Hazard Analysis Critical Control PointSSN National Sanitary System

Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, laying down the general principles and requirements of foodlaw and procedures in matters of food safety and providing the basis for the assurance of ahigh level of protection of human health and consumers’ interest in relation to food, statesthat each stage of production- from the primary production to the processing anddistribution of feed and food- must be considered as a unique process, as each stage hasa potential impact on food safety, animal health, plant health and environment. Therefore

Vet Res Commun (2008) 32 (Suppl 1):S61–S65DOI 10.1007/s11259-008-9091-5

M. L. Cortesi :A. AnastasioDepartment of Zootechnical Sciences and Food Inspection, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine,University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy

M. L. Cortesi (*)Dipartimento di Scienze Zootecniche e Ispezione Alimenti, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria,via F. Delpino 1, 80137 Napoli, Italye-mail: cortesi@unina.it

veterinarians have the important tasks of preventing and fighting animal diseases, grantinganimal welfare and protecting the environment and consumers’ health and interests. It isclear from these brief considerations that they must both be informed and competent onevery problem involving the whole food chain and able to manage the different aspects offood production in relation to the implications of the total food chain and not only of onesingle stage.

Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications specifies that thestudy programme leading to the attainment of formal qualifications in veterinary medicineshall include- among the specific subjects of Food Hygiene, Inspection and Control ofAnimal Foodstuffs or Foodstuffs of Animal Origin- Food Hygiene and Technology andPractical Works, including practical work in places where slaughtering and processing offoodstuffs take place. Practical training does not exceed six months within the aggregateperiod of five years study and the distribution of the theoretical and practical trainingshould be acquired in a manner which enables the veterinarian to perform all his/her duties.

Further specific elements of study and competence may be taken from the contents ofthe Teaching Programme of the Italian Scientific – Disciplinary Sector VET04 (FoodInspection), where it is specified that the following disciplines or themes are to be treated:food hygiene, technology and microbiology; food certification; methodologies andbiotechnologies applied to food production; quality control; animal welfare; social andeconomical aspects related to food production.

Among the aims of the new course of Veterinary Medicine, which should enter intoforce in 2008, it is specified that it should grant the veterinary surgeon to acquire sufficientknowledge and skills to evaluate safety, hygiene, quality and spoilage of foods in a criticalway and to control and monitor the different food chains and their safety.

It is perfectly clear from what is described above that the total number of hours assignedto the Food Hygiene disciplines in the present course of Veterinary Medicine is inadequateto reach the requested objectives. In clear contrast with the growing attention to problemsrelating to food safety and quality, the increase in and the continuous evolution ofregulations, laws and other administrative provisions relating to food production anddistribution and the necessary implementation of different means of control, a reduction of“space” for Food Hygiene disciplines has been proposed for the future course of VeterinaryMedicine, thus evidencing a lack of foresight for the current and future importance of theprofessional figure of the Veterinary Food Hygienist.

The logical consequence of this situation is the need for a continuous post-degreeformation which should integrate and complete the themes not entirely developed becauseof the scarce numbers of credits assigned to this Scientific Sector during the first levelcourses to keep the veterinarian updated to the continuous evolutions of the discipline inorder to acquire those experiences which allow him/her to control problems related to foodsafety and public health.

The need for post-degree education also relates to the consideration that food safety isnot a static concept but an evolving concept, connected not only to the presence ofsubstances, residues or micro-organisms but also to different variable factors concerning theconsumers and the ways food is packaged, stored and administered. Moreover, as far as themanagement and handling of safety problems are concerned, the most suitable type ofapproach to adopt must be considered in relation to routine, alert or emergency actions.

The general objectives of the different forms of veterinary post-degree training shouldaim to grant a better and more specific knowledge in comparison with the contents of thefirst level courses, to illustrate in a more detailed way the different fields and limits ofcompetence, to assure demonstrations and applications of practical work, i.e. an advanced

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preparation adequate to the highest standards and abilities required both at national andinternational level. In other words post-degree training should be considered anindispensable pre-requisite for the veterinary food hygienist to compete successfully withother professional figures involved in the food chain production (Wanner 2006).

Following the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 on official controls forthe verification of compliance with feed and food law and animal health and welfare rules,the European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection, hasprovided specific training aimed at harmonizing and improving official controls. Thesubject areas focused on the HACCP system; EU rules for the use and disposal of animalby-products; EU import standards for fishery and aquaculture products; animal welfarestandards in slaughterhouse and disease control situations; good practices for veterinarychecks at border inspection posts; the development of strategies for the control of highlypathogenic avian influenza. In addition, training programmes are to be organised in newareas such as monitoring and control of zoonoses; application of microbiological criteria tofoodstuffs; controls on food contact materials; evaluation of plant protection products.

HACCP is the most extensive programme and comprises the highest number of trainingevents. With the implementation of the HACCP system in food industries themiscomprehension of its principles, the insufficient importance given to analytical,economical and industrial features during veterinary formation and the lack of referencesto environmental problems and to foods of vegetal origin has damaged the chances forveterinary work. As the HACCP gives the opportunity to other professional figures to workin the same field, it is of utmost importance to form highly specialized veterinarians duringthe degree and post-degree training, so that they will be able to successfully compete withother professionals.

In Italy the forms of post-degree training include the Specialization Schools,Improvement Courses, Masters and ECM Courses. A fundamental step in the post-degreetraining is offered by the Specialization Schools in Food Control, which are still a pre-requisite for access to the SSN. These provide more complete and specific formation in abalanced sequence of lectures and practical field experiences and represent a very importantperiod for the formation of the future Food Inspector, also because many veterinariansemployed in the SSN are actively engaged in the courses, following the signature ofConventions and/or personal contracts. This kind of cooperation is extremely valuable forthe professional qualification because it represents a forum where knowledge, doubts andexperiences on theoretical and practical problems and applications are exchanged.

The management of a Specialization School entails three years of hard work both fromthe scientific and organizational point of view. The efforts required for planning andadhering to the outlined programmes and objectives are worth mentioning as all this, atleast in many Faculties, is done without any retribution for the teachers or subsidy for thestudents, and sometimes with shortcomings in facilities and equipment.

The primary concern of the Specialization Schools must be the full development ofevery theme for which specific theoretical and practical competence are required for foodcontrol so that the future specialists receive appropriate knowledge and training enablingthem to undertake their duties competently and to carry out official controls in a consistentmanner, developing the aptitude for multidisciplinary cooperation. The courses and trainingshall therefore cover the areas referred to in Annex II, Chapter I of Regulation (EC) No882/2004. Hereinafter the specialists shall have to keep up to date in their area ofcompetence and receive regular additional training in the light of successive developments.

The other tools of post-degree training, i.e. masters, improvement courses and ECMcourses, are instruments to deal with definite aspects of food production. They are not a pre-

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requisite for the access to the SSN but a tool to improve the knowledge in a specific field.Requisites for access to the above mentioned courses should be checked in order to assurean adequate preparation.

Post-degree courses are means to develop tools for the introduction to future work. Forthis reason, when these courses are to be organized, the suggestions coming from experts inthe different fields involved and from technical international, national, regional and/oruniversity round tables and conferences should be given full attention.

According to this advice, the courses should provide detailed curricula to facilitateaccess to future employment. Results of post-degree courses mainly rely on the competenceof the teachers. Since these courses concern the whole food chain, the teaching staff shouldbe composed of qualified professionals that have gained a detailed preparation and/orexperience in the different steps of the chain (biologists, technologists, engineers, chemistsetc.) so as to increase the knowledge on matters that have been insufficiently dealt with inthe first level training and to allow the veterinary hygienist to successfully compete withother figures involved in the food chain.

Along with a “practical” characterization of the formative courses and cooperation withthe working system, a better differentiation and articulation in curricula, a clear andconsistent configuration of the general goals and experimentation in innovative and moreinteractive teaching methods should be pursued (Rodrìguez-Martinez 2006).

A qualification of training courses on specific areas through agreements betweendifferent Universities and Institutes should also be useful to encourage competition onquality parameters. Agreements should also be useful to enhance human exchanges asdegree and post-degree training often takes place in the same Faculty. It is useful instead toexperience different approaches to teaching even on the same subject.

Without any doubt it is necessary to reorganize ECM courses that have shown somelimits regarding their organization, implementation, selection of the subjects to be treatedand the means of checking the attained results.

For a “motivated” development of a second level training system the inclinations,predispositions and the previous experiences of teachers and people attending the coursesalso deserve careful recognition and consideration in order to achieve the desired results.

An up-to-date level of preparation, whatever the kind of course attended may be and thenecessary distribution of tasks and functions, requires team play, with effectivecollaboration and exchange among the different actors interested in the attainment of thesame goal. Interdisciplinarity must be emphasized. It represents the basis for the mostpromising development of science and knowledge but is often neglected during the degreeand post-degree courses. Links to updates in feeding, genetic improvement, physiopathol-ogy, infectious disease control, reproduction, clinical work, collaboration with traditionaland innovative farms and with private and public research and analysis institutes, personnelresponsible for industries involved in collateral branches of the food chains can give a clearperspective on the environment and clarify the objectives and activities that will be carriedout.

A complete preparation may, however, not be sufficient to perform one’s duty correctly.It is necessary to form professionals who are not only qualified, but also well motivated andsensitized to the situations they may face and fully aware that they can play an importantrole, not only for the safeguard of human, animal and environmental health but also in theprocess of cultural growth and exchange between civilizations.

This is not an easy task for the teachers and is made possible only by a real commitmentto the practical problems of the “veterinary world”. Teachers should provide an example ofreliability and good practice and instil a sense of responsibility in their audience. It is

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impossible to provide credible teaching and to perform one’s duty without effectiveapparatus and services but an adequate commitment, awareness and satisfaction of the roleplayed may help to overcome the routine difficulties due to the ongoing shortage ofpersonnel, means and instruments not only in the operative field but also in theestablishments where training takes places.

References

Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 07 September 2005 L255/22, 30/09/05.

Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 L31/1, 01/02/02.

Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 L165/1, 30/04/04.

Rodrìguez-Martinez H., 2006. Quality Commitment and Management in Veterinary Education. JournalVeterinary Medicine Education, 33, 165–171.

Wanner M., 2006. The EAEVE and Veterinary Education In Europe. Journal Veterinary Medicine Education,33, 159–160.

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