Photo courtesy of IGP.
The course gave individuals in the industry the opportunity to gain an understanding of the new animal food safety requirements and implement a plan for animal food safety associated with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The course curriculum was developed by the Food Safety Preventative Controls Alliance.
“Being able to understand more about the food safety plan process and sharing stories with other people has really been helpful in this course,” said Melissa Johnson, quality food safety manager at Cargill in Emporia, Kansas, U.S. “The definitions have really helped to clarify certain topics and the repetition of those topics has really been essential for memorization technique when going through the hazard analysis.”
Johnson said she had found out about the course from frequently checking the Kansas State website for any upcoming trainings and decided to obtain a food safety certification after seeing the FSMA course opportunity at IGP.
The training also had a supplemental component accredited to the International HACCP Alliance. Upon completion of both courses, participants received two certificates and are able to demonstrate themselves as a “preventative controls qualified individual” to the FDA.
“The best part of the course is the interaction among participants,” said Cassandra Jones, associate professor at Kansas State University. “We have people from various parts of the grain and feed industry learning the regulations alongside one another and those who will be inspecting them. This encourages valuable discussion to help facilities learn their options for compliance with the rules, and also helps inspectors understand the complexity that compliance can add to existing facility operations.”
