Graduate Certificate in Food Safety and Defense

No longer admitting to this program beginning Fall 2026.

By providing a distance education Food Safety and Defense Graduate Certificate program, we serve the needs of industry and agencies that must protect the human food supply from accidental or deliberate contamination with pathogenic microbes and/or toxicants. In an era of terrorism and global food systems, effective control of foodborne hazards requires advanced education. There is a need for online education for food industry personnel who, while working full time, would like to pursue more in-depth specialized training in food safety and defense that is pertinent to their job. This certificate program also provides a valuable supplementary education to current students in Food Science and related fields, allowing for more in-depth learning of a focused area of critical importance to the food industry.

Kansas State University, Iowa State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the University of Missouri have developed pertinent food safety and defense distance education courses and have established a multi-state consortium to develop and deliver high-priority collaborative distance education programs in the food and agricultural sciences.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Synthesize a current and multi-faceted picture of key food safety and security issues.
  2. Apply, in real-world situations, the scientific principles of microbial and chemical risk assessment and analysis related to food safety and defense issues.
  3. Analyze and apply the concepts of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) programs, as well as other safety and defense approaches, in the management of food safety and defense in food systems.
  4. Evaluate food safety and defense issues in the food industry using the perspectives of sound science, critical thinking and ethical reasoning.
     

Admission standards and prerequisites

Students must meet admissions requirements as outlined for this program: https://online.missouri.edu/degrees-programs/mu/cafnr/food-safety-and-defense/grad-cert#howtoapply or equivalent degree at their respective universities. A tuition disbursement framework as in operation for the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (IDEA) consortium will be used. Certificate enrollments of 20-25 students per year are anticipated, with time to completion of 2-3 years (1-2 courses per semester). See the Great Plains IDEA for further information.

Successful applicants must be a graduate of an accredited institution and must rank in the upper quartile (3.0 grade point average) of their class to gain admission. Undergraduate preparation should include emphasis in chemistry and biology or food science.

For additional information contact:

  • Azlin Mustapha, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Graduate & Certificate Programs
  • E-mail: MustaphaA@missouri.edu
  • Ph: 573-882-2649
  • Address: 246 William Stringer Wing, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211