This course is intended to provide hands-on experience with planning and conducting environmental sampling activities primarily in a retail setting.
Learn how to build a sampling team and plan for an environmental sampling exercise, target sampling areas based on specific pathogens, and how sampling can contribute to an overall environmental assessment of a facility. This one-day course includes half a day of classroom and hands-on learning, followed by a half day of putting those skills into action in a real kitchen/food production environment.
Find the agenda here.
Objectives
- Build and organize an effective sampling team
- Plan and executing environmental sampling exercises
- Identify how to target sampling areas based on specific pathogens
- Demonstrate aseptic sampling techniques in real-world settings
- Develop accurate chain of custody documentation
- Interpret outbreak scenarios with no food samples available
- Relate how sampling supports environmental assessments
- Model the lab sample receiving process
This course will be held in multiple locations throughout the country. If you are interested, please contact AFDO at afdo@afdo.org for dates and locations.
Field level staff who conduct environmental sampling/environmental assessments, and supervisors/coordinators who plan sampling assignments and outbreak responses, particularly at retail facilities
City of Schertz Civic Center
1400 Schertz Parkway, Building 5 – Bluebonnet Room
Schertz, Texas 78154
Nearby Hotel
Staybridge Suites
5601 Schertz Parkway
Schertz, Texas 78154
All attendees will earn CEU credits during this training!
Dr. Sally Flowers brings more than two decades of experience across government, industry, and academic laboratory settings. She holds a BS in Animal Science (University of Florida), an MS in Animal Science, a Ph.D. in Food Science (Penn State), and a BS in Clinical Laboratory Science (University of Nebraska Medical Center). As AFDO’s Director of Scientific Affairs, Dr. Flowers provides leadership in professional training, regulatory science, survey research, and AFDO’s Retail HACCP Plan Review Service. Her work bridges academic rigor with practical, hands-on teaching and technical course development.
Carrie Rigdon is the Research Director at the Association of Food and Drug Officials, where she leads data analysis and research initiatives to enhance food safety. Previously, she managed operations and emergency response at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s Food and Feed Safety Division. With a Ph.D. in Environmental Health and an MPH in Epidemiology, Rigdon brings extensive expertise in outbreak investigation, regulatory program management, collaborative problem solving, environmental sampling, grant writing, and the application of artificial intelligence to food safety data.
Autumn Schuck is Assistant Program Director at the Association of Food and Drug Officials, where she teaches food safety courses and leads Inspector Boot Camp. Previously Inspection Manager at Kansas Department of Agriculture's Food Safety program (2016-2022), she supported statewide retail food safety. Her experience includes roles as inspector, field supervisor, contract supervisor, and third-party auditor in both retail and manufactured food safety.
Deanna Copeland joined the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) in early 2023 to lead projects for the Retail Food Safety Regulatory Association Collaborative and deliver training to strengthen retail food safety nationwide. With more than 24 years of experience in local regulatory, Copeland has had many roles such as retail food safety inspector, plan review specialist, trainer, field supervisor, and program manager — bringing a wealth of experience and hands-on expertise to her role at AFDO.
Steve Mandernach is the Executive Director for the Association of Food and Drug Officials. He is a former Bureau Chief for the Iowa Department of Inspections Food And Consumer Safety Division where he led the manufactured food regulatory program. He is a past AFDO president.
