Improving the Development of Food Safety Plans through the Advanced Preventive Controls School Initiative

The long-term goal of this project is to increase FSMA regulatory compliance of small and very small facilities by building their capacity to develop and implement adequate food safety plans. A "Preventive Controls School" approach will be used in which course participants will gain in-depth knowledge of risk-based hazard analysis as well as process, sanitation, and food allergen preventive controls, thus providing an additional layer of training beyond the PCQI course.There are four objectives under this project. Objectives (1) and (2) focus on curriculum expansion, development, and implementation via an "Advanced Preventive Controls School" approach. Objectives (3) and (4) will allow the team to measure the impact of the new curriculum and determine future training needs of the participants. Specifically, we propose to:Develop an advanced preventive controls for human food training curriculum;Implement the "advanced preventive controls school" training initiative in Nebraska, Guam, and Puerto Rico;Measure the impact of advanced training on the participants' FSMA PCHF foundational knowledge, attitudes, practices, and ability to develop and implement a food safety plan; andIdentify future training needs of food manufacturers in the U.S. Central Plain Region, Guam, and Puerto Rico.