Purdue Offers Courses for Food Safety Professionals

Purdue University will host two multi-day courses in May for food safety professionals that address preventive controls and requirements for food importers and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Purdue is located in West Lafayette, Ind.

The first course, Preventive Control Qualified Individuals, will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 20-21 and 8 a.m. to noon on May 22. The second course, Foreign Supplier Verification Program, will be 1-5 p.m. May 22 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 23. Both courses will take place at Purdue’s Nelson Hall of Food Science.

Designed by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance according to FDA guidelines, the first course will help food processors meet the FSMA requirement of having “preventive controls qualified individuals” on staff. It is intended for food safety and quality managers, supervisors, and anyone with responsibility for food safety programs wanting to learn more about FSMA requirements. Participants will gain a better understanding of the FSMA preventive controls for human food rules, participate in group activities utilizing food safety plan templates, and learn the differences between Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) practices and the FSMA preventive control rules. After completing the course, participants will receive a certificate of training.

The second course will provide participants with information needed to implement requirements of the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for importers of food for humans and animals. This FDA regulation is one of a number of provisions in the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which focuses on safe food practices. The course is designed for U.S.-based importers, as defined in the FSVP rule, and those such as brokers, exporters, foreign suppliers of food that will be exported to the United States, those who buy food from foreign sources, and representatives of foreign governments.

The courses will be led by Yaohua Feng, Purdue assistant professor of food science.

Cost for the Preventive Control Qualified Individuals program is $750, and the Foreign Supplier Verification Program course is $500. Both courses can be attended for $1,100. The fees cover all course materials, beverages and lunch. Online registration is available at http://www.cvent.com/d/9bq2xm/4W. For more information, contact Feng at 765-494-0331, yhfeng@purdue.edu.