Advanced Food Safety and Quality Assurance Diploma | Scarborough & Mississauga Campuses
This program is for food manufacturing professionals ready to spot problems and defend their
decisions when an auditor asks why.
In-person laboratory work and field placement. Offered at our Scarborough and Mississauga campuses.
50 Weeks | 1,000 Hours · Hybrid Delivery · Theory | Lab | Field Placement
Who This Program Is For
This program is built for people already working in food manufacturing.
It’s for you if you are:
- A food manufacturing professional seeking career advancement into supervisory or management roles
- An experienced food manufacturing professional looking to improve your leadership, quality and regulatory knowledge
- Someone with prior food manufacturing experience looking to upskill, reskill or re-enter the industry
This program assumes you already work in food, or have worked in it before. If you’re coming to food safety from outside the industry, our entry-level Food Safety and Quality Assurance diploma is the right place to start.
50 Weeks
1,000 hours across ten courses, hybrid delivery
13
Named physicochemical
determinations performed in the lab
80 Hours
Guaranteed field placement,
evaluated by supervisor and instructor
$48.08/hr
Supervisors, food and beverage processing (NOC 92012).
(Source: Job Bank / Statistics Canada, 2023-24.)
What the Step Up Involves
A technician runs the test. A Quality Assurance Specialist, Coordinator, or HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) Coordinator does something different: they own the plan, decide whether a batch is released or held, and prepare for the audit.
This program is built to get you there. It teaches the judgment behind that call: how to build and validate a HACCP or preventive control plan, how to run a quality management system, how to prepare for a third-party audit, and how to document a decision so it holds up under challenge.
You already have the technical ability; that’s not in question. What this program adds is the judgment and the voice: the difference between producing a number and knowing, with confidence, what to do about it.
Why This Program Matters Now
Since October 2025, food manufacturers applying for, renewing, or amending a Safe Food for Canadians licence must document hazard identification, carry a preventive control plan where one is required, and demonstrate a food safety culture. These requirements were previously voluntary.
But now, enforcement includes product detention, licence suspension and cancellation, and Administrative Monetary Penalties. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is also conducting risk based inspections of over 2,400 manufactured food establishments that hold licences but have never been inspected, and is expanding its scope to include chemical hazards, such as pesticides and heavy metals, alongside biological hazards.
Your plant now has to hold a preventive control plan and demonstrate a food safety culture. Who in your building actually owns that?
(Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2025.)
Full Curriculum
Ten courses, 1,000 hours. Every course builds toward the same outcome: the judgment to make a food safety decision and defend it.
| Total | 1,000 |
|---|---|
| COURSE | HOURS |
| Essential Skills II | 60 |
| Technical Report Writing for the Canadian Food Industry | 60 |
| Sanitation and Food Processing | 80 |
| Food Safety Issues | 120 |
| Food Processing in Canada | 80 |
| Product Development and Packaging | 80 |
| Risk Assessment and Control Plans | 160 |
| Food Analysis | 160 |
| Quality Management System | 120 |
| Field Placement | 80 |
Course Descriptions
Essential Skills II (60 Hours)
Improves the research, analytical writing, and communication skills used in advanced food safety and quality environments, including professional documentation, data interpretation, and workplace collaboration.
Sanitation and Food Processing (80 Hours)
Cleaning compounds, sanitizers, environmental monitoring, and allergen control, and how sanitation program development fits within a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) framework.
Food Safety Issues (120 Hours)
Biological, chemical, and physical hazards affecting Canadian and global food systems, including regulatory frameworks governing domestic and imported products.
Food Processing in Canada (80 Hours)
An overview of Canada’s food processing sectors, meat, poultry, dairy, wine, and horticulture, and how processing methods affect safety, quality, and shelf life.
Product Development and Packaging (80 Hours)
Formulation, sensory analysis, labeling requirements, and packaging material selection, and how each affects product safety and regulatory compliance.
Food Analysis (160 Hours)
Routine physicochemical laboratory determinations used to check a product against its specification. (Full detail in Inside the Lab, below.)
Field Placement (80 Hours)
An 80-hour off-site placement in a food production, laboratory, or regulatory environment.
Risk Assessment and Control Plans (160 Hours)
Hazard identification, critical control point determination, validation, monitoring, verification, and documentation. Students build and evaluate complete HACCP programs against case studies.
Quality Management System (120 Hours)
Internal audits, traceability systems, validation studies, and inspection readiness. Owning and auditing a quality system, rather than following one.
Technical Report Writing for the Canadian Food Industry (60 Hours)
Deviation reports, root cause analyses, corrective action plans, and standard operating procedures, written for how decisions should be defended to an auditor.
Areas of Focus
- Advanced HACCP development and validation
- GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) and SQF (Safe Quality Food Program) certification systems
- Risk assessment and hazard control
- Food processing controls
- Traceability and recall management
- Food analysis and laboratory testing
- Quality management systems
- Regulatory compliance and documentation
- Audit preparation and root cause analysis
- Sanitation and GMP implementation
Inside the Lab
Students perform thirteen named determinations, the routine physicochemical measurements a food plant runs to verify whether a product’s specification is met.
- Ash content by dry ashing
- Salt content by titration
- Free fatty acids in edible oil
- Total solids in milk
- Total soluble solids in juice
- Cooking-yield and cooking-loss analysis
- Physicochemical shelf-life evaluation
- pH and titratable acidity
- Vitamin C by iodometric titration
- Peroxide value in cooking oil
- Wet gluten content in flour
- Net and drained weight
- Comparison of fresh and used frying-oil quality
Several of these are release-decision tests. Peroxide value and free fatty acids in frying oil, the comparison between fresh and used oil, and physicochemical shelf-life evaluation are the numbers a food plant relies on to decide whether a product or process is still within specification. Net and drained weight is a legal labeling compliance test.
This is routine physicochemical quality analysis: the kind of testing a food plant runs every day to confirm a product meets its specifications, and the foundation for knowing what a result means.
The Field Placement
Every student completes a guaranteed 80-hour field placement in a food production facility, laboratory, or regulatory organization. You’re evaluated by both your host supervisor and a college field instructor.
If you’re already working in food and your employer agrees to provide the experience the program requires, your placement can be completed at your current workplace, and those hours count toward the 80. It doesn’t have to be additional hours on top of your job.
This depends on your employer agreeing to arrange it; it isn’t automatic for every student. And it isn’t a waiver: the work still has to be formally evaluated against the program’s requirements by both a host supervisor and a college field instructor.
The placement is a guaranteed component of the program.
Employment afterward is not guaranteed.
How We Compare
There’s more than one way to get into food safety and quality work. Here’s how this program compares by category.
| Oxford College Advanced Food Safety and Quality Assurance | Degree-Gated Advanced Programs | Short Certificates | |
| Entry requirement | Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), or mature student assessment. No degree | Bachelor’s degree, or a three-year diploma, or prior post-secondary science | Open |
| Length | 50 weeks | 52 to 156 weeks | About 15 hours |
| Hands-on lab work | 13 named determinations in Food Analysis | Varies | None |
| Work experience | Guaranteed 80-hour field placement | Optional internship, or none | None |
| Schedule | Morning, afternoon, or evening | Typically daytime, full-time | Self-paced online |
| What it gives you | A diploma, plus the judgment to make a plan and defend a decision | A diploma or degree | A certificate in one specific competency |
A certificate can prove you know one thing well. This program is built to give you the judgment, lab experience, and field placement that a certificate alone doesn’t cover, without requiring a degree to get there.
Where This Can Take You
No single job title describes this work. It’s a progression, and here’s how it runs.
ENTRY POINT
Testers and graders, food and beverage processing
Where many of our students already are.
TECHNOLOGIST
Chemical technologists and technicians
Applying analytical and quality methods at a higher level of responsibility.
SUPERVISOR
Supervisors, food and beverage processing
Official example job titles include “HACCP coordinator.” In the Toronto region, wages in this occupation reach $48.08/hour at the top of the range, across roughly 10,300 roles in Ontario’s food sector.
Source: Job Bank and Statistics Canada, NOC 2021 unit group profiles, Toronto region, 2023–24 reference period.
MANAGEMENT
Manufacturing managers
In Ontario, wages in this occupation range from $33.65 to $96.15/hour across roughly 50,200 roles, 15% of which are in food, beverage, and tobacco manufacturing.
Source: Job Bank and Statistics Canada, NOC 2021 unit group profiles, Toronto region, 2023–24 reference period.
NOC 92012 asks for HACCP certification, several years of food or beverage processing experience, and an extensive quality assurance background. If you already work in food manufacturing, you likely hold two of the three. This program builds the advanced HACCP, quality systems and documentation capability behind them.
Why Choose Oxford College?
Here is what Oxford College brings to your training:
Career-Focused Education
All of the diploma programs are designed for long-term careers in high-growth industries.
Industry-Experienced Instructors
Our faculty consists of experienced and well-trained staff, who will give you industry-relevant knowledge along with your career training.
Hands-On Lab Work
Thirteen named determinations performed by hand in the 160-hour Food Analysis course.
Easy Campus Access
Offered at our Scarborough and Mississauga campuses, both on transit routes. Laboratory work and field placement are completed in person.
Flexible Start Dates
Morning, afternoon and evening start times are offered. Speak with admissions about the next intake.
Financial Aid
Financial Aid may be available to those who qualify. Guidance is provided for different types of student funding. Talk to our dedicated staff who can assist you with the Financial Aid process.
Admissions and Format
Here’s what you need to apply, and how the program runs.
“What do I need to get in?”
- Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD), or equivalent
- Mature Student Status (19 years of age or older), with successful completion of the Wonderlic SLE-Q entrance assessment at a minimum score of 17
No degree is required, and no prior food safety qualification is needed to apply.
Additional requirements:
- Completed immunization
- A clear criminal record check with Vulnerable Sector Screening
The Vulnerable Sector Screening takes longer to process than a standard criminal record check. We recommend starting it early in your application so it doesn’t delay your enrollment.
“How does the schedule work?”
This is a 50-week, 1,000-hour hybrid diploma program with theory, laboratory work, and a field placement.
The program is offered with three daily start times: morning, afternoon, and evening. Availability of a specific start time is confirmed by admissions at enrollment.
Laboratory work and field placement are completed in person. This program is offered at our Scarborough and Mississauga campuses; both require regular on-campus attendance.
“What’s the work environment like?”
Graduates of this program work in food manufacturing plants, processing facilities, distribution centers, laboratories, and regulatory environments. The role involves sustained physical activity: walking production floors, climbing stairs, and standing for extended periods while conducting inspections, audits, and sampling. You may need to bend, reach, crouch, or lift moderate-weight items such as samples, testing equipment, or documentation binders. Work environments may include refrigerated, warm, or wet production spaces, with appropriate protective equipment required throughout.
Prolonged computer use is also part of the role, for report writing, compliance documentation, and corrective action tracking.
“How much does the program cost, and is financial aid available?”
The total cost is $14,145.
$12,750
Tuition
$1,210
Books
$185
Fees
Guidance is provided for different types of student funding.
Program Details
| Duration | 50 weeks, 1,000 hours |
| Delivery | Hybrid: theory, laboratory work, and field placement |
| Credential | Diploma |
| Class times | Morning, afternoon, or evening (confirmed by admissions at enrollment) |
| Placement | Guaranteed 80-hour field placement |
| Campuses | Scarborough and Mississauga |
| Admission | OSSD or equivalent, or Mature Student Status with Wonderlic SLE-Q (minimum 17). No degree required |
Who Teaches It
Dr. Hanna Sharafi, PhD
Program Developer
The program was built by Hanna Sharafi, who holds a PhD in Microbiology; more than a decade of hands-on experience across food testing laboratories, quality assurance, food manufacturing, and product innovation; an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Lead Auditor; also holds SQF Advanced Practitioner and PCQI; certified in Six Sigma and project management; currently the Senior Manager of New Product Development at a Canadian food manufacturer.
Dr. Sharafi built this curriculum based on what the industry needs, not on a standard syllabus, after years of teaching the subject at other colleges. That’s why the program is structured the way it is: real lab time, a guaranteed placement, and a curriculum shaped by someone who’s worked the job.
Ready to Make the Move?
You already have the technical ability. This program adds the judgment and the voice, the ability to own a plan and defend a decision. Request more information and one of our advisors will walk you through the program, the campuses, the class times, and how to apply.
Next intake: Admissions confirms the availability of a specific start time at enrollment.
PLEASE NOTE:
This is a hybrid program
(laboratory work and field placement are completed in person),
offered at our Scarborough and Mississauga campuses.
For immediate questions, call us directly at: 1-866-918-0657