Farm Friendly Food Safety, Preventing Controls and Food Defense Programs Training

<p>Project Summary: The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF) in collaboration with the Oklahoma State University, Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center (FAPC) proposes the development and delivery of training programs called 'Farm Friendly Food Safety and Preventive Controls Programs'. These programs will be designed and implemented for the training of Dairy and Milk Processors, Shell Egg Producers, and Feed Manufacturers with the emphasis that they be directed toward small and very small producers that do not have the resources available to develop this knowledge nor the skills to implement them, without outside assistance. The introductory presentation of this training will cover general food safety programs (preventive controls) that will link closely to food defense programs (including the ALERT initiative). The second phase of the training will be focused on product specific knowledge. The final course of training will address advanced pre-requisite programs and the Food Related Emergency Exercise Bundle (FREE-B). The training will provide small and very small producers the basic knowledge of preventive controls and food security to assist them in meeting the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act. This training will be provided at various locations around the State of Oklahoma allocations that will be convenient for the small producers to attend. The intent is to have a pre-test and survey to measure the incoming level of knowledge and a post-test after each training session. The participants that successfully complete the post test will receive a certificate of completion of each level of training that they can display at their production facility, retail sales venue or farmers market location. The successful acquisition of such an award will allow the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry inspectors to implement these programs and better conduct inspections related to dairies, shell eggs, and feed manufacturers so that they will be able to conduct their inspections in a more efficient manner by enhancing IT components with laptops and printers allowing them to better share information with other state, local and federal regulatory agencies. Both the training and IT components of this proposal will meet the goal of building the capacity of state, local, territorial and tribal regulatory agencies to undertake examinations, inspections, investigations, and other related food safety activities under Section 702 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act.</p>