Association of Food and Drug Officials

Association of Food and Drug Officials

Many perspectives, one voice, since 1896.

Root Cause Analysis for Retail Food Safety

Start May 3, 2027

End May 6, 2027

Virtual / Live

About

Root Cause Analysis is a critical part of the food safety problem solving process. This analytical process breaks the system down into its components, enabling an understanding of the effect of each component on others and/or the system. Root cause analysis techniques assist regulatory and industry professionals in identifying possible causes, determining actual causes, and implementing solutions.

This course develops the skills needed to define the problem, collect data, determine the “why” of the violation or outbreak, and identify solutions by applying the concepts of root cause analysis to reduce risk factor violation occurrence and enhance foodborne illness outbreak investigations.

Find the agenda here.

Objectives

  • Apply root cause analysis to food safety violations and outbreaks
  • Definie problems clearly and collecting relevant data
  • Compare and identify both possible and actual root causes of issues
  • Develop effective, long-term solutions to reduce risk factor violations
  • Evaluate and distinguise analytical and creative thinking in problem solving
  • Demonstrate structured tools to analyze complex food safety problems
  • Improve problem-solving efforts even outside your area of expertise

Four 4.5-hour virtual sessions

  • May 3, 2027 – 4.5-hour virtual session (11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET)
  • May 4, 2027 – 4.5-hour virtual session (11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET)
  • May 5, 2027 – 4.5-hour virtual session (11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET)
  • May 6, 2027 – 4.5-hour virtual session (11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET)

Who Should Attend

Experienced food safety professionals in regulatory or industry roles

Location

Virtual sessions

Travel

Course Length

Four 4.5-hour virtual sessions

Seat Limit

20 spots available
NEHA/CDPH/AFDO Continuing Education Contact Hours — 16 Hours Food Protection

Who You Will Learn From

Deanna copeland
Deanna Copeland
AFDO
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 from retail food safety inspector, plan review specialist, trainer, field supervisor, to program manager—bringing a wealth of experience and hands-on expertise to her role at AFDO.
Autumn Schuck
Autumn Schuck
AFDO
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.

Got membership questions? Learn more at afdo.org/join!

Got questions? Contact Deanna Copeland at afdo@afdo.org

Join the newsletter to stay informed about the latest food and medical products related news from AFDO

AFDO

The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) is a regulatory organization that connects food and medical-products safety stakeholders and impacts the regulatory environment by shaping sound, science-based rules, law, regulations, and sharing best practices that protect public health.