Food Quality and Safety

Obrisani Korisnik — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:07:13 GMT

The programme is based on the latest scientific advances in the field of chemical, toxicological and microbiological aspects of food safety, with a special emphasis on sophisticated analytical control methods.

The study enables professionals to gain an in-depth understanding of processes throughout the entire production chain – from raw material to finished product. Emphasis is placed on harmonizing national legislation with EU regulations, implementing food safety management systems (HACCP, ISO) and developing the skills necessary for risk analysis and contaminant detection.

Strategic response to market challenges

In the dynamic environment of the food industry, mastering risk prevention and management methods is crucial for the sustainability of economic development. This programme transforms your engineering knowledge into the top-level expertise required for the most demanding positions in public oversight and the private food production sector.

General information

Review detailed descriptions, enrollment requirements and specific expert competences.

General information (PDF)

Implementation plans

Official documents and schedule for the current academic year 2025/2026.

IPS 25/26 (PDF)

Food Quality and Safety

Obrisani Korisnik — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:05:39 GMT

Study programme title

Postgraduate specialist study: "Food Quality and Safety"

Scientific area: Biotechnical sciences (4.00.)

Scientific field: Food technology (4.05.)

Branch: Quality assurance (4.05.05.)

Study provider (proposing university) and study implementer (constituent part implementing or coordinating the study implementation)

The study provider is the University of Zagreb, and the study implementer is the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology.

Duration of study

The postgraduate specialist study lasts 18 months, i.e., three semesters.

Enrollment requirements

This specialist study can be enrolled by a person who has completed an undergraduate university (old programme) or graduate study in the field of biotechnical sciences, technical sciences, biomedical sciences, natural sciences and other sciences at the University of Zagreb or another university in the country or abroad.

Competences acquired by the student upon completion of the study

Upon completion of the study, the student would acquire the following competences:

the necessary knowledge (technological, analytical, legal) to identify, analyze and understand the factors affecting the safety and quality of products in the production chain and to preserve food quality and safety in the production chain
understand the factors related to the assessment and control of risks from pathogens and substances that contaminate food and affect human health
have knowledge of the agencies involved in the surveillance and control of infectious diseases and be able to undertake research related to food poisoning incidents
be familiar with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to assess safety and hygiene throughout the production chain
knowledge of legislative provisions regarding food safety and hygiene in Croatia and consideration of comparable legislative provisions worldwide
consideration of social and other factors that influence the connection between health disorders and diet in humans
have knowledge of abnormal and pathological circumstances affecting animal feed, especially those transmissible to humans
be able to assess the impact of growth, harvest, storage and processing factors on the safety and quality of specific groups of food products
understand the assessment and control characteristics of modern food production technology and the packaging industry
be able to assess the impacts of selected additives and food contaminants
have knowledge of legislative provisions regarding food labelling, composition, additives, production, processing and packaging.

Academic title acquired upon completion of the postgraduate specialist study

After completing the postgraduate specialist study, the student is issued a diploma confirming the completion of the study and the acquisition of the academic title Specialist in Food Quality and Safety.

a) Reasons for launching the study

- assessment of its purposefulness considering the needs of the labour market in the public and private sectors

The postgraduate specialist study "Food Quality and Safety" arose as a result of the food industry's need for new personnel capable of understanding and engaging with global changes in food production, processing and distribution, as well as the new perception of food quality and safety by consumers. It partially continues the old postgraduate specialist study "Food Analytics and Microbiology" which has been conducted at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb since 1991, and which would cease to be conducted with the start of this study. The study was established due to the need to educate all those who may find themselves in the food business chain with the aim of ensuring quality and health safety of food, which has become of international importance due to market globalization. Today, when consumer awareness is at a much higher level, when competition in the food market is much greater, when Croatia is in the process of integration into the world market, the production of safe food becomes an imperative of economic development and the need for such a study becomes unquestionable. The application of new technologies and an increasing number of additives in food production aimed at increasing its durability and diversity requires serious analyses of food safety risk assessment and risk management. In addition to a good knowledge of the production processes of raw materials and finished products, food storage processes and conditions for placing food on the market, and knowledge of potential contaminants (of chemical, biochemical and microbiological origin), it is also necessary to master the methods of their detection and to lead and manage processes to prevent their occurrence in the production chain. The strategic importance of food quality and safety for the development of the Republic of Croatia is emphasized in the study "Agriculture and Fisheries Strategy of the Republic of Croatia" (Official Gazette 89/02). To achieve these goals, adequately educated experts are needed, to whom this study should provide all the necessary knowledge and skills for the development and implementation of new methods and techniques with the aim of ensuring the quality of food products present on the market. The proposed postgraduate specialist study directly follows the graduate study "Food Safety Management" and is oriented towards acquiring knowledge and skills based on the insights of analyzing, understanding and explaining processes occurring in the production chain, as well as ensuring and adopting better quality legislation in the field of food business aligned with international standards.

- connection with contemporary scientific knowledge and/or skills and abilities (competences) based on them

The programme is based on the latest scientific advances related to the assessment of food quality and safety (chemical, toxicological and microbiological aspects of food safety) which students will apply in practice after completing their studies. Therefore, the programme covers the field of food quality control using the latest sophisticated analytical methods, the field of legislation related to food quality and safety, which will be of particular importance in the process of harmonizing our legislation with EU legislation, and the field of process management and the introduction of novel food.

b) Previous experience of the proposer in conducting equivalent or similar programmes

Since its establishment in 1956, the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology has been a place of education not only for graduate engineers of food technology or biotechnology, but also for scientists with academic degrees of Master and Doctor of Biotechnical Sciences. The postgraduate specialist study entitled "Food Analytics and Microbiology" has been conducted at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb since 1991. In the past 14 years, the study was attended by 103 candidates who worked in the food, pharmaceutical, fermentative and chemical industries, as well as in various jobs in the public sector. Over time, the programme has been supplemented in accordance with new scientific knowledge and achievements in food analytics and microbiology related to its safety, and this proposal for a postgraduate specialist study would replace the existing one.

c) Potential partners who have shown interest in the programme or who might be interested in its launch, and forms of support from such partners for the implementation of the study (direct investments in the study, covering study costs for a certain number of students, participation in the implementation of the study, especially its research and professional parts, etc.)

Interest in the current study has been shown by all major entities in the food industry: Podravka, Agrokor, Lura, Kraš, SMS, Vindija, as well as public sector institutions such as: Public Health Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Croatian Chamber of Economy, Croatian Food Agency and Croatian Standards Institute. Students of the current specialist study were mostly employees from these institutions, with the institutions fully covering the costs of their education as well as the costs of producing the experimental part of their final theses, which were also produced there.

d) Openness of the study to student mobility

The study is designed to enable enrollment of students who have completed graduate studies at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology or at another related faculty (Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, and Faculty of Medicine). The conditions for transferring to the postgraduate specialist study from other related faculties within or outside the University of Zagreb will be defined subsequently when their programmes are known. The mobility modality would be based on the EU SOCRATES II / ERASMUS programme scheme.

e) Other elements and necessary data, according to the proposer's opinion

The postgraduate specialist study will be conducted at the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, mainly by domestic and several visiting foreign scientists and experts, in cooperation with other scientific and economic institutions.

- Food Quality and Safety

Food Quality and Safety

Strategic response to market challenges

General information

Implementation plans

Food Quality and Safety

Study programme title

Study provider (proposing university) and study implementer (constituent part implementing or coordinating the study implementation)

Duration of study

Enrollment requirements

Competences acquired by the student upon completion of the study

Upon completion of the study, the student would acquire the following competences:

Academic title acquired upon completion of the postgraduate specialist study