The Role of Problem Based Learning in Food Safety Education

English (OpenAlex)

This study aims to examine how the problem-based learning (PBL) approach is addressed in food safety courses within food engineering education and to analyze the development trends of this research field based on existing literature. Food safety education is inherently a problem-oriented field requiring risk analysis, decision-making, and problem-solving skills in real-life contexts; therefore, student-centered teaching approaches such as PBL are considered highly relevant. The study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach, integrating bibliometric analysis and qualitative content analysis. Academic publications indexed in the Web of Science (1995–2025) and Scopus (2002–2026) databases were analyzed based on predefined criteria. In conclusion, although PBL shows strong potential in food safety education, the research field itself is still emerging and requires more systematic, diverse, and application-oriented studies to support its wider adoption in educational practice. Keywords: Food engineering; food safety; content analysis; problem-based learning