Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
200 D.W. BROOKS DR
ATHENS,GA 30602-5016
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Food Safety Extension Network (FSEN): Supporting Consumer, Retail and Home-based Businesses has identified gaps in food safety training for non-traditional clients (e.g, home-based food producers/cottage foods operations) in the Southern Region. Food safety training in home food preservation, retail, and cottage foods/small food businesses becomes a knowledge foundation for clients who often become interested in starting a new food business/cottage food or want to immerse themselves in the food retail arena. As part of producing, handling, and selling foods, food entrepreneurs and retailers are required to follow food safety regulations to comply with state and federal laws. However, food safety regulations can be challenging for new food entrepreneurs who cannot easily understand and access this type of information: therefore, hindering their ability to comply with these regulations and successfully launch a food business. A hybrid train-the-trainer curricula for Extension agents in the areas of home food preservation (HFP), retail food safety (RFS) and cottage foods/small food business (CFSFB) will be developed to be used across member institutions of the Food Safety Extension Network and beyond. These curricula will fulfill the gaps of FSMA-related food safety training, education, and Extension programs utilized by Extension agents, associates, or specialists to reach non-traditional clients, such as home-based, retail and small food businesses. This Collaborative Education and Training Project is anticipated to reach 300 Extension agents in the areas of HFP (80 participants), RFS (100 participants), and CFSFB (120 participants) throughout multiple states in the Southern Region and beyond.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
100%
Goals / Objectives
This project is composed of three major goals:Goal 1. Home Food Preservation:'Develop, implement, and evaluate an Extension program on home food preservation for Extension agents,' composed of two objectives:Objective 1: Develop and implement a hybrid train-the-trainer curriculum with best practices and regulations on home food preservation methods.Objective 2: Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan to assess the quality and effectiveness of project activities and outputs.Goal 2.Cottage Foods:'Develop, implement, and evaluate an Extension program on cottage food and small food businesses for Extension agents,' composed of three objectives:Objective 1: Develop and implement a hybrid train-the-trainer curriculum to teach the food science and sanitation principles in preparing food for sale in a home or small food business facility.Objective 2: Identify or develop resources for cottage food and small food businesses to find and follow state-specific food laws.Objective 3: Develop and implement an evaluation plan to assess the effectiveness of the training and impact to cottage food and small food businesses.Goal 3. Retail Food Safety:'Adapt and implement an Extension program on retail food safety for Extension agents,' composed of two objectives:Objective 1: Adapt and implement a hybrid train-the-trainer curriculum and other relevant materials on food safety at retail.Objective 2: Identify and develop resources for retail businesses to find and follow state-specific food laws.
Project Methods
Methods are demonstratedamong each objective within each specific goal:Methodsfor Goal 1: Home Food PreservationObjective 1:Efforts:Develop a hybrid train-the-trainer program: i) Online interactive modules that will be housed on a Learning Management System (LMS) platform (Absorb). The online program will be comprised of 10-12 interactive modules covering technical content on home food preservation methods, challenges in home-based settings, scientific principles of canning, the risks associated with improper processing of low-acid and acidified canned foods, and general food safety practices.ii) In-person two-day hands-on workshops with several demonstrations and activities on food preservation procedures, food safety practices, including adequate cleaning, and sanitizing of food contact surfaces, adequate selection and cleaning of produce, proper processing procedures with real-life and/or picture/video examples. The train-the-trainer program will also include instruction on how to deliver the curriculum to the target audience.iii) Conduct pilot and In-service Training (IST) hybrid sessions for Extension faculty (train-the-trainer). A total of 20 county Extension agents, associates, or specialists (10 per state) who are involved with home food preservation efforts in their communities (e.g., teaching, answering questions, delivering workshops) will participate in a pilot program that will be conducted in two different states (Georgia and South Carolina). Four official train-the-trainer programs will be delivered to a total of 60 county Extension agents, associates, or specialists (15 per state).Objective 2:Evaluation: i) Develop tools to monitor and evaluate project activities. Quantitative surveys will be administered following non-experimental designsin the form of a pre- and post-assessment design. The proposed evaluation tools will be developed and distributed using one or more of the following a) Absorb Course Evaluation, b) Qualtrics and c) a physical paper copy of the assessment. Data collection on pre- and post-knowledge assessments will include questions related to 1) general food safety knowledge; 2) low-acid and acidified canned foods knowledge; 3) canning principles knowledge; 4) attitudes towards recommended food safety practices; 5) perceived skill level to perform key tasks associated with recommended home food preservation procedures; 6) satisfaction with the training; and 7) demographic information of the participant. Follow-up 6-month survey questionnaires will include questions related to knowledge of home food preservation methods and regulations; the number of questions from the community that were correctly answered; the number of home food preservation classes offered to the community; the number of community members trained in home food preservation methods (e.g., canning, freezing, drying);the economic impact generated from the amount of money saved by community members preserving foods; andchallenges and opportunities related to the implementation of the program.ii) Utilize findings to adjust and adapt project activities. Findings will be utilized to generate reports, and results will be utilized to prepare manuscripts for submission to appropriate peer-reviewed journals. The team will discuss effective ways to utilize the evaluation results to fine-tune training content and incorporate the programmatic material into the Extension portfolio creating a self-sustaining project across the southern region and beyond. Evaluation reports and findings will be submitted annually to the funding agency.Methods forGoal 2: Cottage FoodsObjective 1:Efforts:i) Develop a hybrid curriculum including videos, hands-on activities, and supporting materials required to implement the learning objectives. Create an inventory of existing training materials at each university within the network. Concurrently, the team will begin to flesh out the curriculum and identify gaps in training materials to determine which resources need to be developed. These training components will be utilized in the synchronous online training course and one-day in-person training.ii) Conduct pilot and in-service trainingworkshops for Extension agents using a train-the-trainer teaching model. A total of 20 Extension agents, associates, or specialists (10 per state) who actively work with cottage food and small food producers will participate in a pilot train-the-trainer program that will be conducted. The goal of the two pilot programs is to evaluate the program, training materials, activities, and overall general layout of the training to validate the curriculum before full delivery.Two official train-the-trainer programs will be delivered to 100 Extension agents, associates, or specialists (50 per program) with the in-person workshop held in two states. Extension staff who successfully complete this program will be prepared to educate stakeholders in their geographic region to improve their food businesses and ensure a safe food supply for consumers.Objective 2:Efforts:i) Identify current state-specific Cottage Food laws and resource documents. Existing resources will be compiled into an online repository for easy access for Extension staff and stakeholders.ii) Develop new state-specific Cottage Food resource documents as necessary and identify what states do not have resources available to support cottage food and small food businesses. The team will assess these gaps and determine how best to provide state-specific support such as links to the state laws, a brief overview of the law, and points of contact for each state. This information will be housed in the online repository with state-specific resources.Objective 3:Evaluation:i) Design and distribute six-month post-training evaluation. The survey will measure knowledge retained after the program, and the value and impact the program had on their food business. The survey will be designed and distributed through Qualtrics.ii) Analyze six-month post-training evaluation. Data collection will be confidential and anonymous. Data will be analyzed using SAS Viya. Survey results and analysis will be shared with the project PDs, FSEN collaborators, and Extension staff who served as program trainers. Results will be published and utilized to share the impact of the training for this sector of the food industry.Methods for Goal 3: Retail Food SafetyObjective 1:Efforts:Adapt and implement a hybrid train-the-trainer curriculum and other relevant materials on food safety at retail. Because of the success of implementing the Safe Plates program for retail managers since 2016, we propose to leverage and adapt the existing Safe Plates curriculum to be delivered outside of NC and co-branded as an FSEN curriculum. The curriculum will cover topics including: 1) Introduction to Food Safety, 2) Personal Hygiene and Employee Health, 3)Food Purchasing and Receiving, 4) Cleaning and Sanitizing, 5) Storage, 6) Pest Control and Facility Design, 7) Preparation and Cooking, 8) Allergens, Toxins, and Chemical Contamination, 9) Cooling and Holding, 10) Food Safety Management. The course will be delivered to 20 agents as a pilot program at NC State University. A total of 80 county Extension agents (20 agents per state) who deliver retail food safety programming and provide subject matter expertise will receive a hybrid model of in-person training and supporting curriculum material after the pilot training is completed.Objective 2: Efforts: Identify relevant food safety laws, governing agencies, and resources in their respective states and in other FSEN member states. These resources and links will be compiled into an online repository for easy access for Extension staff and subsequent sharing with retail stakeholders. Provide state-specific support, including links to food safety law and a list of contacts with the required subject matter expertise for each state.