Project Grant 20236701739041

FROM SOCIAL MEDIA TO DISTANCE LEARNING TO VIRTUAL REALITY, WHERE AND HOW WILL THE NEXT GENERATION OF FOOD HANDLERS GET THEIR FOOD SAFETY INFORMATION? AS HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY EDUCATORS, WE NEED TO BE POISED TO REACH ALL GENERATIONS WITH FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION THAT EFFECTIVELY INFLUENCES BEHAVIOR CHANGE.THE 2023 CONSUMER FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION CONFERENCE (CFSEC) WILL BRING ANSWERS AND CLARITY TO QUESTIONS LIKE THIS AND MORE. WHILE THE SCIENCE BEHIND SAFE FOOD HANDLING AND HAND HYGIENE GUIDANCE HASN'T CHANGED, HOW PEOPLE ARE SOURCING THEIR FOOD, EXPERIENCING THEIR FOOD, AND RECEIVING INFORMATION IS CHANGING.THE 2023 CFSEC WILL EQUIP HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY EDUCATORS FROM ALL SECTORS TO BE PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE OF FOOD SAFETY EDUCATION AND ORIENT EDUCATORS TO NATIONAL GOALS SUCHHEALTHYPEOPLE 2030AND THE CORE ELEMENT 4.3 OF THENEW ERA OF SMARTER FOOD SAFETY.FOODBORNE ILLNESS IS A SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE. ONE IN SIX AMERICANS WILL EXPERIENCE A FOODBORNE ILLNESS A YEAR (CDC, 2013). IT'S CRITICAL THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFE FOOD HANDLING AND HAND HYGIENE PRACTICES TO REDUCE THEIR RISK OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS. THE ONSET OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED HOW PEOPLE SOURCE THEIR FOOD AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH FOOD. FOR EXAMPLE, IN 2020, FROZEN FOOD PURCHASES INCREASED BY 21% AND ONLINE FROZEN FOOD DOLLAR SALES INCREASED 75% (AFFI,FMI, 2021). THE U.S. ALSO SAW AN INCREASE IN DELIVERED FOODS. 68% OF CONSUMERS IN THE U.S. ARE MORE LIKELY TO USE FOOD DELIVERY SERVICES THAN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, AND 53% OF CONSUMERS CONSIDER DELIVERY ESSENTIAL TO THEIR LIFESTYLE (PINHEIRO DE SOUZA, ET AL., 2022).FROM THE LATEST FOOD SAFETY AND NUTRITION SURVEY, CONSUMERS HAVE REPORTED BELIEVING THAT THEY ARE MOST LIKELY TO GET FOOD POISONING FROM FOOD PREPARED AT A RESTAURANT THAN FROM THE HOME (FDA, 2019). THE SURVEY ALSO REVEALED INCONSISTENT HAND WASHING BEHAVIORS WITH MOST REPORTING WASHING THEIR HANDS AFTER TOUCHING RAW MEAT OVER BEFORE THEY BEGIN MEAL PREPARATION(FDA, 2019).MORE WORK IS TO BE DONE TO HELP HOUSEHOLDS UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE IN FOODBORNE ILLNESS PREVENTION TO REDUCE THE OVERALL RATES OF ILLNESS. EMPOWERING COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY PROFESSIONALS AS MESSAGE AMPLIFIERS IS WHERE DIRECT IMPACT CAN HAPPEN. CREATING PROGRAMMING FOR A NATIONAL CONFERENCE THAT BRINGS THESE PROFESSIONALS TOGETHER AND EQUIPS THEM WITH LEARNINGS, RESOURCES, AND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO INFLUENCE BEHAVIOR CHANGE IS CRITICAL TO ILLNESS REDUCTION.