This proposal addresses the USDA nifa fsop priority 2) - collaborative education and training projects, to enhance and update food safety modernization act (FSMA) preventive controls for human foods…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Illinois Institute of Technology $399,896 on September 15, 2025, under the Food Safety Outreach Program (CFDA 10.328) to enhance and update Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls for Human Foods training delivery to lead instructors across regional centers, community-based organizations, and extension systems.

The project addresses Priority 2 of the FSOP by establishing criteria for lead instructor participation, conducting regional surveys of instructors, delivering refresher training courses, and evaluating impact. The long-term goal builds collaborative infrastructure to support continued food safety education, training, extension, outreach, and technical assistance to small and medium-sized food processors in FSMA compliance. The short-term goal equips regional and extension network lead instructors with tools to deliver the updated Preventive Controls for Human Foods standardized curriculum to small and medium-sized food companies. The project leverages networks across all four regional centers to identify and reach lead instructors, ensuring they obtain mandatory training to retain lead instructor status and continue delivering FSMA preventive controls training.

Place of performance is Chicago, Illinois. The period of performance runs through September 29, 2027.

Global Food Protection Institute (International Food Protection Training Institute), a sub-recipient, provides project management and communications support, manages the learning management system to create courses and manage enrollments, issues certificates, maintains records, manages participant communications and virtual platform production, generates FSPCA learning management system reports to analyze lead instructor performance, and delivers evaluation support through surveys and report writing.

This proposal addresses the USDA nifa fsop priority 2) - collaborative education and training projects, to enhance and update food safety modernization act (FSMA) preventive controls for human foods (PCHF) training to lead instructors in community-based and regional non-governmental organizations (NGOS) and extension systems. The long-term goal is to build upon the collaborative infrastructure established by each regional center to support continued food safety education, training, extension, outreach, and technical assistance to small and medium-sized food processors in compliance with FSMA. The short-term goal is to provide regional, and extension network lead instructors the tools they need to successfully deliver the updated PCHF standardized curriculum to small and medium-sized food companies. A key focus is to leverage the networks of all four regional centers to identify and reach out to regional and extension network instructors to assist them in obtaining mandatory training to retain their lead instructor status and continue delivering FSMA preventive controls training to industry audiences. The project objectives include: 1) establish criteria to enhance lead instructor participation, 2) create and conduct regional surveys of lead instructors, 3) conduct lead instructor refresher training courses, and 4) evaluate impact. This project will support the continued development of lead instructors from multi-region, multi-state and multi-universities who can train and educate the regional food growers, packers and processors with the latest regulatory guidance, food safety principles, and industry best practices. This project will also encourage close collaborations between fspca and the regional centers, extension network, and the food processing communities.