Food protection officials from 20 countries came to Battle Creek in late July to get hands-on training experience in testing food to see if it was safe to eat.
The visit is one part of the
International Food Protection Training Institute’s work building and administering a training infrastructure for an integrated food safety system across the globe.
"Food safety is an issue that affects everyone on the planet," says Gerald Wojtala, executive director of The Institute. "And making sure the food supply is safe should be a top priority for all countries."
Columbia, Kenya, and the Republic of Moldova are three of the 20 countries represented at the training program that is part of the annual International Food Safety Short Course, sponsored by Michigan State University. A representative from Haiti also learned ways to help those struggling to keep food safe in that country after it suffered a series of natural disasters.
Many food protection officials were sent by their governments to the course. Visits by others were funded by the United Nations or the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Attendees were introduced to the type of hands-on training the Institute is known for, as opposed to typical lecture style methods of teaching. Participants experienced methods of sampling, temperature taking and other testing techniques.
The curriculum is carefully structured to take into account adult-learning styles.
Participants told Institute officials that beyond networking, they felt like family before the training course was completed.
The Institute works with federal regulatory and public health officials to establish and oversee the implementation of a career-spanning food-protection training program.
"As the global food supply becomes more interconnected, strong international food safety systems are essential," says Wojtala. "The programs provided by the Training Institute play a vital role in helping food safety professionals in the U.S. and throughout the world protect the food supply."
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Joan Bowman, International Food Protection Training Institute
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