International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) Announces Inaugural Course

AFDO is excited to announce that the first course conducted through the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) will be “Managing Retail Food Safety” taught by FDA trainer, Allen Gelfius.  The inaugural course will be held at the McCamly Plaza Hotel in Battle Creek, MI on July 14-16, 2009.  This course is offered in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and NCAFDO, and has no registration fee. (Posted 5/21/09) [View 5/21/09 Press Release] [More Information]

Hot Topics to be Discussed at the upcoming AFDO Conference!

Food Lab Accreditation Survey: This recently released survey was developed by the Laboratory, Science and Technology Committee to begin gathering information on what is needed for acceptance of laboratory test results between and among allied state and federal food safety regulatory entities. A driving force behind this survey is to promote acceptance of state laboratory test results for use in federal level regulatory action.  For more information, please contact Dan Rice [e-mail].

FoodSHIELD – LabDIR: LabDIR provides the tools necessary to capture national level food and agriculture laboratory testing capability and capacity. This innovative database was developed by the National Center for Food Protection and Defense in collaboration with AFDO and is ready for use by all state and federal laboratories engaged in food and agriculture product testing. Some of the many benefits of LabDIR include a protected site to catalog and share laboratory contacts, provides communication forums on lab methods and technical issues, provides a mechanism to form a community of allied agriculture sector and/or food testing laboratories, and enhances communication and coordination among allied laboratories. The Laboratory, Science and Technology Committee has been charged with promoting LabDir and encouraging appropriate laboratories to participate. For more information, please contact Dan Rice [e-mail].

AFDO 113th Annual Educational Conference has been approved for Continuing Education Credits 

The National Environmental health Association (NEHA) has approved the 2009 AFDO Conference for 18.25 contact hours of continuing education credit.  [Details] (Posted 4/27/09)

AFDO Releases Lab Test Results Survey

AFDO has released a survey to determine what is needed for state and federal agencies engaged in food safety regulatory oversight to consider reciprocity of laboratory test results from another agency.  This survey has just been released to laboratory and program managers for their responses.  [Full Story] (Posted 4/13/09)

AFDO Awarded W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant to Develop International Food Protection Training Institute

The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $2,000,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to create and develop an international food protection training institute. The training institute will be a key component of a national food protection center to be located in Battle Creek, Michigan. While the overall purpose of the training institute is to address the unmet educational needs of food protection professionals, its immediate focus will be on the urgent need for standardized, graduated, and career-spanning training of state and local food protection professionals to meet generally recognized food safety standards.  [Full Story] (Posted 3/26/09)

AFDO 2009 State Food Safety Resource Survey is here!

The Association of Food & Drug Officials (AFDO) is again conducting a survey of state food safety programs in order to capture information regarding the volume and importance of food safety work performed there.

AFDO’s current survey effort is being conducted at a time when great interest exists for the development of new food safety legislation at the federal level and this project should fully quantify the enormous food safety work conducted at the state and local level.  (Posted 2/26/09)

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DHS' HITRAC.  Each year, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center (HITRAC) initiates a data call to State Homeland Security Advisors (HSA) requesting the identification of critical assets.  HITRAC wanted to enhance the ability of State Homeland Security Advisors (HSAs) to tap relevant subject matter experts (SMEs) in their States and territories during the data call which began on February 4, 2009.  [More Information] (Posted 2/24/09)

AFDO Introduces its New Website.  Featuring more intuitive navigation and new features such as interactive tables, finding the information you need has never been easier. Please explore the site and if you have any questions, please contact the AFDO Office. (Posted 2/22/09)