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 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (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, in Battle Creek, Michigan. 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 BP 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].

Advisory Council

The IFPTI Advisory Council represents a diverse group of food protection communities—including federal regulatory agencies, state and local food protection agencies and associations, industry, consumer advocates, and academia.

Participating organizations include:

Association of American Feed Control Officials, Inc.

Association of Food & Drug Officials

Association of Public Health Laboratories

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Center for Disease Control

Cornell University

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists

FDA’s 50-State Training Workgroup

Food Marketing Institute

Global Food Protection Institute

Grocery Manufacturers Association