Customized Food Safety Education Strategy for Hard-to-Reach Audiences in the Western Pacific Islands

The goal of the proposed project is to train and educate cooperative extension educators/agents and regional public health regulatory agents with customized food safety curriculum and have them provide trainings and information on FSMA requirements and related food safety information to socially disadvantaged and isolated farmers, processors, and other stakeholders in the Western Pacific. In addition, we will assist to build a strong and effective Western Pacific regional food safety networking and to connect and communicate with Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety in support of cooperative extension programs of all Land-grant colleges in the region.The proposed project will engage cooperative food and agricultural extension educators, public health regulatory agents, local farmers' market associations, and fishermen associations to reach the final target audiences. We have five specific objectives to support the long term goals of the project:Objective 1: Assess food safety knowledge levels of the trainees on the proposed project who are cooperative extension educators/agents and regional public health regulatory agents in the beginning of the project and after the completion of planned training sessions. It is very critical since the food safety knowledge levels of food safety professionals in the region will be a key factor for successful implementation and delivery of the project and it will be instrumental in developing materials and trainings. Objective 2: Modify food safety training and education materials developed by a USDA NIFA food safety outreach project to provide current FSMA-related information and other critical food safety practices based on the assessment results of food safety knowledge in the beginning of the project. These training and education materials include DVDs, FSMA document forms, and educational booklets.Objective 3: Provide FSMA-related food safety education, such as Food Safety Plans and Standards for Produce Safety (not FSMA-certified training) and other food safety information to local food safety professionals and stakeholder groups in the Western Pacific region. This would not cover the extent of the Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA) or Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) curriculum, although curriculum and materials from those courses would be used.Objective 4: Provide FSMA-related food safety education and other food safety information to the final target audiences who are mostly farmers, processors, fishermen, etc. The training will be conducted by the trainees of the proposed project. These trainings are not directly related to FSMA requirements but very important to the islanders and very small-scale farmers and food processors in the region.Objective 5: Establish a regional food safety professional network in the region that is connected with food safety experts at the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety Center (WRCEFS) and National Coordination Center (NCC) for Food Safety Training, Outreach, and Technical Assistance. It is expected that this food safety network in collaboration with WRCEFS will help them appeal critical needs in food safety education and technical supports in the Western Pacific region.