International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI)
AFDO awarded W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant to develop International Food Protection Training Institute
March, 2009
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.
AFDO and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are committed to improving the food safety system, which has come under intense criticism recently as a result of several multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks. “Americans depend on state and local food inspectors to protect us from health hazards that cost lives, but those inspectors frequently lack adequate training to do their jobs, and our states can’t afford to develop or sustain good training programs,” said Rick Foster, Vice President of Programs for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
“In 1998, AFDO called for the creation of a nationally integrated food safety system. The development of a national food protection training institute is a major step in moving toward a more coordinated and effective system,” said Joseph Corby, Executive Director of AFDO. “These training programs will encompass all stakeholders and all elements of food protection. The certified curricula will meet specific standards, span a professional’s entire career, and serve as an umbrella to incorporate existing training programs,” Corby added.
In June 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on oversight by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of state contracts. In this report, the OIG recommended that the FDA take steps to promote equivalency among federal and state food safety standards, inspection programs, and enforcement practices. State food inspectors perform more than 90 percent of all food plant inspections in the U.S., including more than half of all FDA inspections under contracts with FDA. Yet, there is no mandatory training requirement for state and local food safety professionals, and training varies by state. In fiscal year 2008, state and local inspectors conducted more than 2,000,000 inspections, including approximately 10,000 FDA food contract inspections.
Work on the development of the institute will begin immediately, with a limited number of prototype courses to be delivered this year.
AFDO Committees will be charged to assist the organization in developing this training institute. A special meeting for AFDO Committee Chairs will be held in Chicago prior to AFDO’s Annual Education Conference to discuss these charges and other issues relating to this project.
More information about the development of the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) can be found on AFDO’s website at www.afdo.org. Inquiries into these matters can be referred to AFDO’s Executive Director, Joseph Corby [send e-mail].
About W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930. The organization supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern Africa.
About AFDO
AFDO is an international, non-profit organization that is in the forefront of streamlining and simplifying regulations by either drafting regulatory rules or by commenting on government proposals. By developing a broad base of support for new approaches, AFDO has become a recognized voice in determining the rules and shape of the regulatory playing field of the future. The consensus that AFDO develops is key to advancing uniform laws, regulations, and guidelines that result in more efficient regulation and less confusion among industry in the marketplace. AFDO develops support for its positions by interfacing with high-level regulatory officials, industry representatives, trade associations, and consumer organizations. This continues to have a significant impact on regulations at the federal, state and local level.
For further information on the Association of Food and Drug Officials, please visit AFDO’s website at www.afdo.org.