International Food Protection Training Institute
The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) is a non-profit organization that seeks to improve food safety by building a national training infrastructure.
In collaboration with the FDA, U.S. federal regulatory and public health officials[1], and academic institutions[2], IFPTI delivers food protection courses to state and local food protection professionals. This training meets established U.S. federal food safety standards[3] and all costs associated with the training are reimbursed by IFPTI.
State and local agencies carry out more than 90 percent of food safety inspections in U.S. food manufacturing and distribution establishments yet less than $1 million was spent on training in 2009, which is inadequate to facilitate any significant increase in capacity or equivalency at the state and local level. Many state and local offices no longer fund travel for training their food safety inspectors due to budgetary constraints. IFPTI makes its programs free for U.S. regulatory officials, reimbursing training and travel costs. The food training organization provides a blueprint for career-spanning, standards-based training curriculum that could raise the standard of food training nationwide. In 2009, IFPTI was established after government, academic, industry and national food safety groups collaborated, prompted by the melamine incident in 2007. Most face-to-face IFPTI training programs are delivered at the Kendall Center on the campus of Western Michigan University. Additional courses and webinars are offered on-line.
Achievements
IFPTI was endorsed by the FDA’s Partnership for Food Protection Training Workgroup[4]and started work on its goals, including identifying and cataloging nearly 900 existing food safety courses in the U.S.
By the end of 2010, more than 1,100 food protection professionals from 47 states and seven other countries attended training hosted or sponsored by IFPTI. In June 2010, IFPTI coordinated emergency training for states in response to the Gulf Oil Spill[5],[6],[7],[8],[9],[10],[11]. Nearly 60 officials were funded by IFPTI to attend seafood sensory training given by expert responders in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This training allowed state officials to make decisions about closing fishing areas as well as evaluate the safety of seafood harvested in the Gulf.
Funding
In 2009, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation donated $5 million in seed money to create IFPTI[12]
IFPTI received $1 million as designated in a 2010 federal appropriations bill which provides funding for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, rural development and related agencies[13].
References
- ^ Association of Food and Drug Officials
- ^ Food safety is aim of institute: Inspectors from across U.S. being trained in Battle Creek
- ^ Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program
- ^ FDA 50-State Meeting
- ^ New York Times: Oil Spill’s Impact on Gulf Seafood Remains Uncertain
- ^ MSNBC Video
- ^ Gulf seafood safety inspections ramp up as oil spill spreads
- ^ USA Today: Officials work hard to protect Gulf seafood from oil spill
- ^ Times Online: Forget high technology – a nose is best for sniffing out oily fish
- ^ Nosing Through Seafood
- ^ Fox: Local Group Training Noses in the Gulf
- ^ Southwest Michigan's Second Wave - "They Make Food Safer in Battle Creek"
- ^ Stabenow, Levin: Senate Approves More Than $48 Million in Critical Funding for Michigan