Program Overview

Program Overview

The University of Copenhagen offers a master's course in EU Food Law, denoted as NIFK19000U. This course is primarily aimed at non-law students but is also relevant to students with previous experience in law.

Course Description

EU Food Law addresses the rules and regulations governing the food sector, relevant to consumers, food businesses, and public authorities. The course covers the development of food law, the General Food Law, food labeling, food safety and hygiene, novel foods, and the enforcement of food law.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will have an in-depth understanding of the regulation of the food sector in the European Union. The learning outcomes include:

• Knowledge of the relationship between the aims and responsibilities of players in the field of food law and the content of the law
• Understanding of the content and functioning of the core area of EU food law
• Ability to describe the multi-layered structure of food law and the role of different players involved at national, European, and international levels
• Ability to find relevant sources of EU food law in a given case
• Ability to formulate a legal problem statement, conduct legal reasoning, and analyze food-related cases

Literature

The course literature includes the EU Food Law Handbook edited by Bernd van der Meulen and Bart Wernaart, as well as a selection of legislation, case law, and related documents.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The course will include lectures, guest lectures, assignments, and tutorials/group discussions. Students are expected to participate actively in discussions, group work, and exercises during the course.

Workload

The workload for the course is as follows:

• Lectures: 40 hours
• Preparation: 86 hours
• Exercises: 40 hours
• Exam: 40 hours
• Total: 206 hours

Exam

The exam is a written assignment based on the application of a relevant selection of topics addressed to a specific case. The assignment should be 2,250-3,250 words (excluding references), and all aids are allowed. However, the use of AI/Large Language Models is only permitted as a source, and students must list the AI source, prompts, and indicate how it was used in the exam paper.

Course Information

• Language: English
• Course code: NIFK19000U
• Credit: 7.5 ECTS
• Level: Full Degree Master
• Placement: Summer
• Schedule: 4-22 August 2025 (a detailed study program will be provided)
• Course capacity: 50
• Study board: Study Board of Natural Resources, Environment and Animal Science
• Contracting department: Department of Food and Resource Economics
• Contracting faculty: Faculty of Science
• Course Coordinators: Helle Tegner Anker
• Lecturers: Bernd van der Meulen

Additional Information

Prior knowledge of food matters and/or EU law is helpful and recommended. The course is open to all who have an interest in the subject. The assessment is based on the criteria given by the Learning Outcomes, and the marking scale is a 7-point grading scale. There is no external censorship, and the re-exam is the same as the ordinary exam.