Foodborne illness investigations rely on environmental samples and getting them right — from where you sample to what you collect — is essential to defensible results.
The Environmental Sampling Workshop was created to build confidence and consistency in environmental sampling during retail outbreaks and environmental assessments. This course provides participants with a clear foundation in planning, sample collection, documentation, and shipping environmental samples in a real kitchen environment.
Through a blend of classroom instruction and immersive exercises, participants learn how effective sampling identifies root cause, informs control strategies, and strengthens public health decision-making. The workshop emphasizes legally defensible practices and hands-on experiences to mirror real foodborne illness investigations.
Participants Will Learn and Practice How To:
- Plan and organize an environmental sampling team
- Select sampling approach across food environments based on pathogen characteristics
- Apply aseptic technique with sterile sampling supplies
- Create a chain of custody and legally defensible documentation
- Prepare samples for shipment to the laboratory
- Interpret sampling outcomes and determine responses when results are positive
Find the agenda here.
Retail Food Regulators, Rapid Response Team/Recall/Emergency Response Coordinators, Team Leads, Supervisors, Managers, Industry professionals who support outbreak response and/or environmental monitoring, Personnel involved in contract or flexible funding sampling activities
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.
