Source: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to
BUILDING INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR ASSISTING PRODUCERS AND PROCESSORS IN THE NEW FOOD SAFETY REGULATORY LANDSCAPE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1010606
Grant No.
2016-70020-25805
Project No.
TENX-2016-07430
Proposal No.
2016-07430
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
A4182
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2016
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2018
Grant Year
2016
Project Director
Fouladkhah, A. C.
Recipient Organization
TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY
3500 JOHN A. MERRITT BLVD
NASHVILLE,TN 37209
Performing Department
Agriculture, Human,& Nat. Sci.
Non Technical Summary
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is the most comprehensive legislation in the U.S. food manufacturing and agricultural production in more than 70 years, mandating additional compliance requirements for many manufacturing and agricultural sectors for the first time in history of country. For very small operations currently exempt from the regulations, FSMA training would be a major empowerment for expanding their operations that otherwise had to remain inside the exemption "box." For small non-exempt farmers and processors, the information would also be critical for continued access to the market in post-FSMA era. As such, continued support of land-grant institutions is of critical importance, especially for those entrepreneurs with limited resources and those that are categorized as small and socioeconomically disadvantaged operations. This pilot project is an extension and education approach to further build the capacity in our institution by: (1) Providing FSMA lead instructor training for faculties and certification workshops for extension agents (2) Conducting need assessment surveys with small producers and processors and thereafter development of two curricula for beginners and advanced small and socioeconomically disadvantaged producers and processors (3) A multi-day planning meeting for collaborators and stakeholders engagement and discussing the plans for enhanced continuation of the project and FSMA outreach and technical assistance. In order to avoid duplication of endeavors, our proposed project will be conducted in close harmony and communication with FSMA regional and national training centers. With extensive expansion of county operations in recent years, Tennessee State University is uniquely positioned to serve niche and hard-to-reach audiences.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
5025010302050%
7121430117050%
Goals / Objectives
This pilot project is an extension and education approach to further build the capacity in our institution by: (1) Providing FSMA lead instructor training for faculties and certification workshops for extension agents (2) Conducting need assessment surveys with small producers and processors and thereafter development of two curricula for beginners and advanced small and socioeconomically disadvantaged producers and processors (3) A multi-day planning meeting for collaborators and stakeholders engagement and discussing the plans for enhanced continuation of the project and FSMA outreach and technical assistance. In order to avoid duplication of endeavors, our proposed project will be conducted in close harmony and communication with FSMA regional and national training centers. With extensive expansion of county operations in recent years, Tennessee State University is uniquely positioned to serve niche and hard-to-reach audiences.
Project Methods
Objective 1. Providing FSMA lead instructor training for faculties and certification workshops for extension agents. During the 12 months of this study at least three faculties will obtain Lead Instructor status by attending FSPCA and/or PSA trainings. Content of these certification workshops are developed for extension educators, thus certified instructors then bear the responsibility of curricula and outreach material development suitable for their institutions, and producers and processors in their geographical region. The certification workshops of Produce and Preventive Control Rules for extension agents, conducted by the lead instructors, are expected to be 2 to 3 days in length for discussing core competencies of each rule, to meet and exceed the requirements of FSPCA and PSA certification programs.Objective 2. Conducting need assessment surveys with small producers and processors and thereafter development of two curricula for beginners and advanced small and socioeconomically disadvantaged producers and processors. Based on the Codes of Federal Register for Produce and Preventive Control rules and information provided in FSPCA and PSA Lead Instructor workshop manuals. A comprehensive list of core competencies will be developed. Information such as surface and sub-surface water testing, conduct of hazard analysis, validation existing process controls, biological soil amendment, wildlife control management, health and hygiene training, equipment and facilities sanitary design validation, recordkeeping and documentations, and development of validated control measures, and corrective actions will be then organized as domain with relevant sub-domains and will be validated as an instrument for Delphi approach need assessment. The key personnel of the project from Tennessee will provide input for development and validation of the instrument. To conduct a systematic need assessment and identify and refine areas of concern for producers and processors, domains and sub-domains will then be ranked by three panels of practitioners. First panel is consist of extension and food safety educators from academe. The other two panels are consist of exempt and non-exempt produce farmers (for Produce rule) and exempt and non-exempt processors (for Preventive Control rules). Results of the above-mentioned ranking as well as a survey with open-ended questions, will be used as the basis for development of dissemination material and add-on programs and activities for Produce and Preventive Control certification workshops in TSU. These Delphi rounds will be conducted with at least 10 participants in each panel to assure an adequately powered experiment (Johnston et al., 2014) and will be completed after obtaining Institutional Review Board approval of Tennessee State University. Review of the pre-selection instrument by internal and external evaluators of the project (Drs. John Ricketts and Kuhal Patel) and conduct of the Delphi rounds with above-mentioned adequately powered panel members are our approach for assuring the internal and external validity of the design.Objective 3. A multi-day planning meeting for collaborators and stakeholders engagement and discussing the plans for enhanced continuation of the project and FSMA outreach and technical assistance. In addition to stakeholder, public, and project personnel from Tennessee and collaborators from regional and national FSMA training center, individuals from Tennessee Departments of Agriculture and Health, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Tennessee, Tennessee Technical University, and members of Tennessee Food Safety Task Force and Tennessee Variance Committee will be cordially invited to attend and serve as speakers. The conference will be supplemented with three addendum programs of (1) Tour of TSU cooperative extension program and applied research laboratories (2) Poster presentation competition for undergraduate and graduate students; (3) Hands-on food safety education activities. The hands-activates will include demonstration of cross-contamination and cross-contact using GlowGermTM, side-by-side demonstration of sanitized and non-sanitized surfaces under the microscopic conditions, demonstrating the performance of ATP test for validation of proper cleaning, and modified "microbiology for public" activities developed by American Society of Microbiology (http://www.asm.org/). The project PI were previously (2009-2013) responsible for conduct of similar annual meetings for Rocky Mountain Institute of Food technologists suppliers night (http://www.rmift.com/index.asp) supplemented with students competition and outreach activities for public thus assumes responsivities for conduct of this objective. TSU Cooperative Extension Program had also recently conducted five regional conferences through a USDA funded project (http://www.nashvillechew.org/), thus have the infrastructure, personnel, and regional connections for successful execution of the third objective of the proposal.

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Unlike the vast majority of species, microbial communities have the tremendous ability to move towards diversity and fitness through vertical and horizontal gene transfer mechanisms, enabling the "emergence" of organisms with new characteristics in response to evolving agricultural and manufacturing environments. As such, assuring the safety of the public against natural and anthropogenic microbial pathogens from food and agricultural commodities is a daunting task and a moving target. Enhanced global travel and commerce, an increased proportion of food safety at-risk populations, and consumers' demand for nontraditional commodities such as minimally processed and ready-to-eat products also provide breeding grounds for emerging, novel, and reemerging infectious diseases associated with food and agricultural productions. Earlier estimates of CDC indicate that every year in the United States, 75 million illness and 300,000 hospitalizations, and more than 5,000 deaths occur due to foodborne pathogens. More recent epidemiological investigations also reveal similar trends with roughly 1 out of 6 Americans experiencing illnesses from these pathogens, leading to about 128,000 hospitalizations and over 3,000 deaths, every year. Signed into law in January of 2011, Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is the most comprehensive legislation in the U.S. food manufacturing and agricultural production in more than 70 years. The food safety law aims to ensure the safety of domestic and imported foods by shifting the focus of federal food regulatory agencies from the response to contamination to preventive measures. As a comprehensive law with over 50 rules, the proposal and implementation of the legislation had been in progress and have gained increasing momentum in recent years. The Preventive Controls for Human Food (FDA-2011-N-0920) and Standards for the Growing, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (FDA-2011-N-0921) are among the most critical pieces of the legislation for producers and processors. The rules mandate additional compliance requirements for many sectors of food manufacturing, and agricultural production for the first time in the history of the country. FSMA also grants the Food and Drug Administration accelerated authority for mandatory recall and suspension of facilities with noncompliance records, authorities that were nonexistent in the pre-FSMA era. Although the legislation is expected to appreciably enhance the health of the public by even further reducing the burden of the foodborne diseases, hospitalizations, and deaths, it requires extensive steps from producers and processors. Meeting and exceeding Produce and Preventive Control Rules requirements would be critical for producers and processors regardless of the size of their operation. For those currently exempt from the produce regulation (i.e. those with three year average annual revenue of high-risk Raw Agricultural Commodities below $25K) and Preventive Control rule (e.g. direct sales to restaurants and consumers within 275 mile radius of their operations), training and certification would empower them to expand their businesses that otherwise had to remain inside the exemption "box" to be excluded from federal audits and compliance requirements. For non-exempt farmers and processors, the information would also be critical for continued access to the market since in post-FSMA era, Food and Drug Administration had received authority both for mandatory recall and suspension of noncompliant facilities. The target audience of the current project is producers and processors in Tennessee and around the country particularly those considered as small, very small, and emerging entrepreneurs. As previously indicated, these entrepreneurs could not expand their operation beyond the limitation of FSMA exemption without regulatory compliance training. Our students as upcoming early career labor in the food and agricultural industries were also a target audience of the project. FSMA regulatory training would facilitate their career prospect and assist the existing entrepreneur meeting the regulatory requirements. The vast majority of the target audience member in private industry and the academe during this project were among the underrepresented populations as further elaborated below. Some internship activities were provided by the Public Health Microbiology Laboratory (PI: A. Fouladkhah) during the course of this project to provide food safety and FSMA training for underrepresented students. Specifically, Mr. Edward Daniels (twice), 2017 & 2016 Summer Intern (Michigan native); Ms. Karimah Preston, 2017 Summer Intern (Illinois native); Ms. Akiliyah Sumlin, 2017 Summer Intern (Oklahoma native); Ms. Destiny Cook, 2016-2017 Undergraduate Research Assistant (Georgia native) had a chance to join the Public Health Microbiology Laboratory for learning about food safety and food safety regulatory climate. All four interns and/or undergraduates are from African American background (1 male, 3 females). Graduate students were similarly involved in the efforts of the project. Their progress is further delineated under the accomplishment section. In short, Ms. Abimbola Allison and Ms. Monica Henry, both African American female graduate students have achieved several awards and provided deliverables listed below. Producers and processors were also the main target audience of the project. They have received training scholarship targeted towards the small entrepreneurs as elaborated in details under the "Other products" section (Also available at http://www.midtngrowers.com/produce-safety-alliance-grower-training/). Training and workshops had been also conducted in Tennessee as well as two events in Boston and New Haven, CT as further elaborated below. Several validation studies required for efficacious and economic design and implementation of a Food Safety Plan in Preventive Control for Human Foods were also prepared. As further delineated in the products section, those were also disseminated in a workshop in Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting of 2018 where the project PI served as the Co-Chair, organizer, and a presenter of the section. Faculty and staff of TSU had also been the target of the training for the current project. As also provided an excerpt in the yearly progress report submitted in August 2017, the project had provided funds for TSU faculty and staff to receive training as PSA instructor (AF, JR, AC, RF, AA, ET, DF), FSPCA lead instructor for Human Food (LS, AF), FSPCA Lead Instructor for Animal Food (AF), PC QI for Human Food (SC, NK, AA, JA, Lead Instructor: A. Fouladkhah). Three have also received approval to become a Lead Instructors for FSCPA Human Food and Foreign Supplier Verification (AA, NK, AF) that plan to obtain the status using an existing project of the Public Health Microbiology Laboratory of TSU in early 2019. Changes/Problems:Based on USDA census data, number of farming operations have been consistently in decline nation-wide and in Tennessee. The number of operations in Tennessee has declined 22% from 87,587 in 2002 to 68,050 operations in 2012, highlighting the critical role of land-grant institutions in continued rural development and assuring food security. Tennessee farming operations are ranked 11th in the country with approximately 70% of operations considered as small entrepreneurs in rural areas. Continuous engagements with the producers and processors in the Tennessee area especially those considered as emerging entrepreneurs is of critical importance for the successful continuation of the land-grant mission. As further delineated in Target audience section, this project established a grower's scholarship to assist producers of raw agricultural commodities to receive food safety training and certification. A special emphasis was placed on entrepreneurs with less than 10 acres of operations. In addition to the provided information, additional information could be obtained at:http://www.midtngrowers.com/produce-safety-alliance-grower-training/. Such initiatives could of importance for enhanced stakeholder engagement and continued land-grant mission of our institutions. Similarly, two state-wide research and outreach events were organized on Campus of Tennessee State University were students and stakeholders had a chance to attend the event, present their recent work associated with Food Safety and Food Safety Modernization Act outreach and technical assistance. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In addition faculty, staff, student, and stakeholder training provided, students involved in the project was able to make research and collegiate achievements that are summarized in two sections below. Students' Research Competition Awards: -1st Place, Oral Competitions, Health and Medical Sciences section. 2018 Tennessee Academy of Sciences. The 128th annual meeting, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN. Student: M. Henry. Nov 17, 2018 (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -2nd Place, Oral Competitions, Health and Medical Sciences section. 2018 Tennessee Academy of Sciences. The 128th annual meeting, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN. Student: A. Allison. Nov 17, 2018 (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -3rd Places, Oral Competitions, Health and Medical Sciences section. 2018 Tennessee Academy of Sciences. The 128th annual meeting, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN. Student: J. Adhikari. Nov 17, 2018. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -1st Place (tied), Graduate Poster Competitions, 2018 Annual State-wide Poster Competition for Food Safety Modernization Act, Food Safety, and Food Science Students. Tennessee (Volunteer) section Institute of Food Technologists. Student: M. Henry. Apr 26 2018, (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -1st Place, Undergraduate Poster Competitions, 2018 Annual State-wide Poster Competition for Food Safety Modernization Act, Food Safety, and Food Science Students. Tennessee (Volunteer) section Institute of Food Technologists. Student: B. Simpson. Apr 26 2018 (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -2nd Place, Undergraduate Poster Competitions, 2018 Annual State-wide Poster Competition for Food Safety Modernization Act, Food Safety, and Food Science Students. Tennessee (Volunteer) section Institute of Food Technologists. Student: A. Sumlin. Apr 26 2018. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -3rd Place (tied), Undergraduate Poster Competitions, 2018 Annual State-wide Poster Competition for Food Safety Modernization Act, Food Safety, and Food Science Students. Tennessee (Volunteer) section Institute of Food Technologists. Student: K. Day. Apr 26 2018. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -3rd Place (tied), Undergraduate Poster Competitions, 2018 Annual State-wide Poster Competition for Food Safety Modernization Act, Food Safety, and Food Science Students. Tennessee (Volunteer) section Institute of Food Technologists. Student: K. Sampson. Apr 26 2018. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -3rd Place, Oral Competitions, Graduate Agricultural Sciences Oral I Division, 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018. Student: A. Allison. Apr 6 2018. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -2nd Place, Oral Competitions, Graduate Life and Physical Sciences Oral Division, 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018. Student: M. Henry. Apr 6 2018. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -2nd Place, Oral Competitions, Graduate Life and Physical Sciences Division, 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018. Student: A. Allison. Apr 6 2018. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -1st Place, 2017 Tennessee Academy of Science, Health and Medical Sciences Student Oral Competition November 17, 2017, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tennessee. Student: K. Sampson. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -3rd Place, 2017 Tennessee Academy of Science, Microbiology Student Oral Competition, November 17, 2017, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tennessee. Student: A. Allison. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -Finalist, 2017 IFT-EFFoST International Non-thermal Processing Conference Graduate Student Oral Competition. Student: A. Allison, PhD candidate. May 25 2017. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). -2nd Place, Oral Competitions, Graduate Biological Sciences Division, 39th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2017. Student: A. Allison, PhD Student. Apr 18 2017. (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah). Students' Collegiate and Scholastic Recognition (Advisor: A. Fouladkhah): -2018 Public Health Microbiology Graduate Student Publication Scholarship. Funds of $550 towards Publication and Open Access Fees, For Preparation of an Outstanding Manuscript as Part of AGSC 5540 Food Policies and Regulation Course. Student: M. Henry. Nov 15, 2018 -2018-2019 Foundation/Food and Product Safety (FMI) Scholarship ($3,000). Student: A. Allison. Sep 2018. -2018-2019 Monsanto Undergraduate Scholarship ($10K/2 years), Student: B. Simpson. Aug 2018. -2018 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Feeding Tomorrow Graduate Scholarship. Extension and Outreach Division. Student: A. Allison. May 2018. -2018 International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Graduate Scholarship. 2018 Annual Conference of IAFP. Student: A. Allison. April 2018. -2018 Scholarship, Agriculture Future of America (AFA), Food Institute. Student: B. Simpson. Feb 2018. -2018 MANRRS Farm Credit VIP Scholar. 2018 MANRRS conference. Students: K. Day, A. Sumlin. Feb 2018. -2017-2018 Outstanding PhD Student of College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Sciences, Tennessee State University (Selected after peer-review by college faculty and NIFA judges, among approximately 34 PhD students/candidates in the college). Student: A. Allison, PhD candidate. Apr 28 2017. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Producers and processors were also the main target audience of the project. They have received training scholarship targeted towards the small entrepreneurs as elaborated in details under the "Other products" section (Also available at http://www.midtngrowers.com/produce-safety-alliance-grower-training/). Training and workshops had been also conducted in Tennessee as well as two events in Boston and New Haven, CT as further elaborated "other products section". Several validation studies required for efficacious and economic design and implementation of a Food Safety Plan in Preventive Control for Human Foods were also prepared. As further delineated in the products section, those were also disseminated in a workshop in Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting of 2018 where the project PI served as the Co-Chair, organizer, and a presenter of the section. In addition to regional, national and internal experience in the conduct of outreach and technical assistance workshops, the project PI has been holding a series of international outreach and technical assistance workshop in the Dominican Republic through a USAID funded project, discussing food safety, FSMA, and consumer food safety. Summary of these endeavors are available at: http://farmertofarmer.blogspot.com/2017/10/enhancing-meat-processing-through.html A recent profile of the program is also featured by Institute of Food Technologists available at: http://u7.ift.org/About-Us/Volunteer/Volunteer-Profiles/Aliyar-Fouladkhah.aspx Finally, public health microbiology laboratory is uniquely positioned to further disseminate deliverables of the current community outreach project in a publically available, open-access capacity since the project PI is editing a relevant special issue inMicroorganisms,the webpage is available athttp://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganisms/special_issues/foodborne_pathogens_manufacturing What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? (1) Providing FSMA lead instructor training for faculties and certification workshops for extension agents: As previously mentioned, faculty and staff of TSU has been the target of the training for the current project. The project had provided funds for TSU faculty and staff to receive training as PSA instructor (AF, JR, AC, RF, AA, ET, DF), FSPCA lead instructor for Human Food (LS, AF), FSPCA Lead Instructor for Animal Food (AF), PC QI for Human Food (SC, NK, AA, JA Lead, Instructor: A. Fouladkhah). Three additional employees of TSU has also received approval to become a lead instructor for FSCPA Human Food and Foreign Supplier Verification (AA, NK, AF) that plan to obtain the status using an existing project of the Public Health Microbiology Laboratory of TSU. Workshop of TSU stakeholder and agents had also been conducted on October 2018 and November 2018 as delineated in "Other products" section. (2) Conducting need assessment surveys with small producers and processors and thereafter development of two curricula for beginners and advanced small and socioeconomically disadvantaged producers and processors: Needs assessment survey for the producers of raw agricultural commodities were conducted during the life of the project (n=12), with three respondents being female farmers. Mean age of the farmers were 64.5 (range 53 to 77), number of acre ranging from 4 to 25 acres (average 10.1 acres). On average operations had 6.9 employees involved in harvest (ranging from 2 to 12) and having 1 to 4 year-round employee. Crops of their choice were Celery (n=1); Cabbage (n=2); Peppers (n=5); Radishes (n=2); Leafy greens (n=6); Cucumber (n=2); Tomatoes (n=8); Herbs (n=7); Broccoli (n=5); Carrot (n=4); Onion (n=4); Melons (n=5); Strawberries (n=4); Other crops (wheat, cotton soybean): (n=5) and their selling market were: Grocery stores and retail stores (n=1); Foodservice (n=1); Farmers market (n=2); Roadside (n=4); On-farm store (n=3); Pick your own (n=3); CSA (n=2); Food hub (n=2). Highlights of Current knowledge of the Producers: -37% and 25% indicated they have "average," and "poor" knowledge of water sources and risk, respectively. -37% and 38% indicated they have "poor," and "average" knowledge of water testing methods, respectively. -25% and 50% indicated they have "very poor," and "average" knowledge of types of water tests required, respectively. -37% and 38% indicated they have "very poor," and "average" knowledge of the frequency of water testing, respectively. -25% and 25% indicated they have "average," and "poor" knowledge of interpreting water analysis results, respectively. -63% indicated they have "good" knowledge of treated soil amendments. -38% and 50% indicated they have "average," and "good" knowledge of untreated soil amendment, respectively. -38% and 38% indicated they have "average," and "good" knowledge of Interval application of soil amendment, respectively. -75% indicated they have "excellent" knowledge of domestic and wild animal control. -38% and 50% indicated they have "good" and "Excellent" knowledge of animal exclusion practices. -88% indicated they "excellent" knowledge of crop protection from fecal contamination. -70% indicated they have "excellent knowledge of employee hygiene practices. -80% indicated they have "excellent" knowledge of maintaining sanitary equipment and facilities. Highlights of Producers Need for Information: -70% indicated "very high" need for water sources and risk training information. -89% indicated "very high" need for water testing methods training information. -90% indicated "very high" need for types of water testing methods training information. -57% indicated "very high" need for interval application of soil amendment training information. -50% indicated "very low" need for worker health, hygiene training information. -57% indicated "low" need for equipment and facility cleaning and sanitation practices training information. Needs assessment survey of processors were conducted during the life of the project (n=17). A number of employees in the processing plants were ranging from 1 to 8 (average 2 employees) and the processors were in business for an average of 8 years (ranging from 1 to 30 years). 58% of respondents indicated they do not know if they are exempt from Preventive Control for Human Food rule while 41.2% indicated they know their operation is currently exempt. Their edible products were Baked Products; donuts and specialty pastries; Salsa; Peach Salsa; Jams; Spicy Jam; egg; honey; Jams; Cheeses; Bread; Donuts; Peanut Butter; Deserts; Baking flour mix; Chilli Oil; Spices; Canned foods; Chicken. Their non-edible products were: Beauty soaps; Beeswax candle; Gardening supplies. Highlights of Current knowledge of the Processors: -40% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Microbiological effects of water activity on food products." -31% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Microbiological effects of pH on food products." -46% of processors indicated they possess "good knowledge" of "Microbiological effects of shelf-live on food products." -37% of processors indicated they possess "good knowledge" of "Foodborne illness that may be associated with food products." -57% of processors indicated they possess "good knowledge" of "Preventing cross-contamination when making food products." -36% of processors indicated they possess "poor knowledge" of "Allergen concerns of food products." -28% of processors indicated they possess "good knowledge" of "Hazards during transportation of food products." -33% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Agencies that regulate food processing facilities and food products." -43% of processors indicated they possess "excellent knowledge" of "Causes of spoilage in food products." -27% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Procedures used to control microorganisms." -57% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Temperature danger zone for microorganisms to grow." -29% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Label requirement for food products." -27% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Facility needed to produce food products for direct sales to consumers." -29% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Facility needed to produce food products for sale to retail." -20% of processors indicated they possess "poor knowledge" of "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for food producers." -20% of processors indicated they possess "excellent knowledge" of "Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for food processing." -33% of processors indicated they possess "average knowledge" of "Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) for food processing." (3) A multi-day planning meeting for collaborators and stakeholders engagement and discussing the plans for the enhanced continuation of the project and FSMA outreach and technical assistance. Two state-wide research and outreach events were organized on Campus of Tennessee State University were students and stakeholders had a chance to attend the event, present their recent work associated with Food Safety and Food Safety Modernization Act outreach and technical assistance. Since 2017 the programs have provided presentation opportunity for 22 finalist competitors, and 11 awardees. Further information about the program is available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ift-vol-section-2017-spring-meeting-tickets-33476967511

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fouladkhah, A., Fleming, R., Clardy, A., Ricketts, J. 2018. Regulatory Requirements for Early-Career Labor and Emerging Entrepreneurs in the Current Food Safety Regulatory Landscape. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Simpson, B., Henry, M., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Epidemiology of Foodborne Disease Outbreaks in Tennessee and the United States: A Secondary Analysis of CDC Outbreak Data of 1998 to 2016. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Biofilm formation of wild-type and pressure-stressed Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella serovars and their sensitivity to sodium hypochlorite. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Effects of Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure for Decontamination of Raw Milk from Listeria monocytogenes and Background Microflora. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sumlin, A., Daniels, E., Preston, K., Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., and Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Sensitivity of Foodborne Isolates of Salmonella serovars, Cronobacter sakazakii, and Listeria monocytogenes to Mild Hydrostatic Pressure and Heat in Phosphate Buffered Saline Medium. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sumlin, A., Day, K., Sampson, K., Allison, A., and Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Fate and Decontamination of O157 and Non-O157 serogroups of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli, including ATCC 43895, as Affected by Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sampson, K., Allison, A., Sumlin, A., Day, K., and Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Survival and Inactivation of Wild-Type and Rifampicin-Resistant Cronobacter sakazakii and Background Microflora of Infant Formula using Repeated Cycles of Hydrostatic Pressure. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Day, K., Sumlin, A., Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., and Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Synergism of Natural Antimicrobials and High Pressure Pasteurization for Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes in a Processed Dairy Product. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Henry, M., Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. High Pressure Pasteurization for Inactivation of Rifampicin-Resistant Cronobacter sakazakii in Reconstituted Infant Formula. 40th Annual University-Wide Research Symposium, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, 2018
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sumlin, A., Day K., Allison, A., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Fate and Decontamination of O157 and Non-O157 serogroups of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli, including ATCC 43895, as Affected by Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure. Division I: Biological, Chemical, & Physical Sciences Research Contest, 2018 MANRRS Conference (Selected in Top 10 for competition).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fouladkhah, A., 2018. Food Safety and Consumer-Driven Change: Assisting Emerging Entrepreneurs and Small Farmers Meeting Requirements of the New Food Safety Regulatory Climate. 5th Annual Yale Food Symposium Conference, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, CT, February 23, 2018.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah*, A. Synergism of Mild Heat and High-Pressure Pasteurization against Listeria monocytogenes and Natural Microflora in Phosphate-Buffered Saline and Raw Milk. Microorganisms 2018, 6(4), 102.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Fouladkhah*, A. Sensitivity of Salmonella Serovars and Natural Microflora to High Pressure Pasteurization: Open Access Data for Practitioners and Risk Assessment. Data in Brief (Elsevier) 2018, 21:480484
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Fouladkhah*, A. Adoptable Interventions, Human Health, and Food Safety Considerations for Reducing Sodium Content of Processed Food Products. Foods (Basel, Switzerland) 2018 7(2), 16
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Daniels, E., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah*, A. Effects of Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure against Mesophilic Background Microflora and Habituated Salmonella Serovars in Orange Juice. Microorganisms 2018, 6(1), 23.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fouladkhah A., 2018. Recent Validation Studies Using Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure and Synergism with Heat, and Natural Antimicrobials. In session: Industrial Adoption and Validation of High Pressure Based Minimal Processing Technologies (A. Fouladkhah, session organizer). 2018 Annual Meeting of Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, IL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., and Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Effects of Lactic Acid and Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure against Wild-Type and Rifampicin-Resistant O157 and Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli in Meat Homogenate. 2018 Annual Meeting of Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, IL
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sumlin, A., Daniels, E., Preston, K., Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., and Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Sensitivity of Foodborne Isolates of Salmonella serovars, Cronobacter sakazakii, and Listeria monocytogenes to Mild Hydrostatic Pressure and Heat in Phosphate Buffered Saline Medium. 2018 Annual Meeting of Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, IL
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Bhandari, B., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Effect of Come-Up Times of Less than Three Minutes on Efficacy of High Pressure and Thermal-Assisted High Pressure Pasteurization against Escherichia coli O157:H7. 2018 Annual Meeting of Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, IL.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Day, K., Sumlin, A., Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Synergism of Natural Antimicrobials and High Pressure Pasteurization for Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes in a Processed Dairy Product. 2018 Annual Meeting of Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, IL
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Biofilm formation of wild-type and pressure-stressed Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella serovars and their sensitivity to sodium hypochlorite. 2018 Annual Meeting of International Association for Food Protection, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Henry, M., Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. High Pressure Pasteurization for Inactivation of Rifampicin-Resistant Cronobacter sakazakii in Reconstituted Infant Formula. 2018 Annual Meeting of International Association for Food Protection, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Effects of Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure for Decontamination of Raw Milk from Listeria monocytogenes and Background Microflora. 2018 Annual Meeting of International Association for Food Protection, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Sumlin, A., Day, K., Sampson, K., Allison, A., and Fouladkhah, A. 2018. Fate and Decontamination of O157 and Non-O157 serogroups of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli, including ATCC 43895, as Affected by Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure. 2018 Annual Meeting of International Association for Food Protection, Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Allison, A., Troyanovskaya, E., Chowdhury, S., and Fouladkhah, A. Synergistic Effect of Heat and Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure for Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes. International Association for Food Protection 2017 Annual meeting, Tampa, Florida. Abstract No. 14475
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Allison, A., Chowdhury, S., Troyanovskaya, E., Cooks, D., and Fouladkhah, A. Effects of Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure at Controlled Temperature against Background Microflora and Planktonically-Grown Habituated Salmonella Serovars in Orange Juice. 2017 Annual Meeting of Institute of Food Technologists, Las Vegas, Nevada. Abstract No. 19315.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fouladkhah A., Allison A., Henry M. Food Safety Requirements for Assisting Emerging Entrepreneurs and Small Farmers in the New Climate. 2018 Food Safety Outreach Program Directors Meeting, USDA NIFA| Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, August 21 & 22, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fouladkhah A., Allison A., Henry M. Food Safety Modernization Act Outreach and Technical Assistance for Current and Emerging Entrepreneurs. 2018 Food Safety Outreach Program Directors Meeting, USDA NIFA| Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, August 21 & 22, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fouladkhah, A., 2018. Food Safety Compliance for Emerging Entrepreneurs. Commercial Kitchen-Food Safety Workshop. UT/TSU Montgomery County Extension Office, Clarksville, TN, April 27, 2018.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fouladkhah, A. Food Safety Modernization Act for Emerging Entrepreneurs. Meeting for Food Safety Modernization Act, Food Safety, and Food Science Students. Tennessee (Volunteer) section Institute of Food Technologists. Farrel Westbrook Auditorium, TSU, Nashville, Tennessee. Apr 26, 2018.


Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Along with the progress in implementation of FSMA, stakeholders' concerns, particularly those who undergo new regulatory requirements for the first time in the history of the country, is gaining momentum. FSMA compliance is particularly critical and disconcerting for smaller operations and emerging entrepreneurs. Without food safety regulatory knowledge, these operations had to maintain only limited profit and/or regional market in order to remain within the FSMA exemption "box." Our study has been able so far to build institutional capacity for providing train-the-trainer, Lead Instructor and Instructor status for TSU faculty and staff as further delineated in the accomplishment section. In addition to elaborated local, national, and international outreach and technical assistance workshops (elaborated in Publications and Other Products sections) the prime institution had provided scholarship opportunity for so far 9 low-income small producers of raw agricultural commodities to receive food safety certification. Project had also served the advisees of the Public Health Microbiology Research and Outreach Laboratory of TSU, leading to national recognition of advisees as further delineated in the accomplishment section. Changes/Problems:So far the project had led to training certification opportunity for 7 TSU faculty/staff, scholarship for 9 low-income growers to receive food safety training, competition for 11 student finalists and 3 awardees, publication in commentary section of Journal of Extension, presentation in a Conference of Harvard Law School in Boston and a series of extension and outreach endeavors. At the same time, slight delays in receiving the funds from NIFA, setting up the account in TSU, internal IRB, and availability of Produce Safety Alliance trainings in Tennessee had delayed to some extent our progress in this pilot year project. The project is expected to continue to make satisfactory progress, meeting and exceeding the objectives within the remaining lifespan of the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project is expected to exceed the number of certified/trained faculty members for Produce Safety Alliance (PSA), and Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA) instructor and/or lead instructor trainings. So far the project had led to certification of seven TSU faculty and staff (AF, JR, AC, RF, AA, ET, DF) as PSA instructors, two FSPCA lead instructors for Human Food (LS, AF), and one FSPCA Lead Instructor for Animal Food (AF). As the sole awardee of the 2017 Feeding Tomorrow Scholarship of national Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), in Food Laws and Regulations Division, the doctoral student involved in the project (Student: A. Allison) had received recognition and networking opportunity during the IFT17. The advisees and project directors had the opportunity of joining regional and national FSMA events in IFT17, IAFP17, FSMA Southern Center meeting, and Just Food Symposium of Harvard Law School, for professional development and networking. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?At institution level, the project had held two events entitled "Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Effects on Small Producers and Processors," at Small Farm Expo, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, (July 21, 2016) and "Microbial Food Safety and Transboundary Diseases," at USDA NIFA Multicultural Scholars Program, Summer Experiential Learning. Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, (May 16 2017). Available at: (Accessed August 31, 2017) http://www.tnstate.edu/agriculture/documents/2016%20Small%20Farms%20Expo%20Program.pdf At regional level in Tennessee, the project had led to two additional dissemination efforts entitled "Food Safety Considerations for Primary Processing" during the Processing Workshops for Direct Marketer. McDonald County, TN (May 26, 2016) and Winchester County, TN (May 27, 2016) and "Regulatory Affairs and Epidemiology in the Current Food Safety Landscape," at University of Tennessee, Department of Food Science and Technology, Knoxville, TN (February 25, 2016). At national level, the project had led to two additional dissemination efforts entitled "Building Institutional Capacity for Assisting Producers and Processors in the Current Food Safety Regulatory Landscape: Tennessee State University Update," at the Southern Food Safety Outreach Project Directors Seminar, Orlando, FL (May 9-10, 2017), and at First Southern FSMA Training Center Meeting. University of Florida, Orlando, FL. (January 21, 2016). At international level, the project had led to two additional dissemination efforts entitled "Food Safety Burden and Regulatory Compliance for Emerging Entrepreneurs," at workshop hosted by Partners of the Americas Farmer-to-farmer program, ISA University, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic (August 28, 2017) and "Microbial Food Safety for Current and Emerging Entrepreneurs," at workshop hosted by Partners of the Americas Farmer-to-farmer program, ISA University, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic (August 31, 2017), (No-cost travels). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Based on the Codes of Federal Register for Produce and Preventive Control rules and information provided in FSPCA and PSA Lead Instructor workshop manuals. A comprehensive list of core competencies will be developed. Information such as surface and sub-surface water testing, conduct of hazard analysis, validation existing process controls, biological soil amendment, wildlife control management, health and hygiene training, equipment and facilities sanitary design validation, recordkeeping and documentations, and development of validated control measures, and corrective actions will be then organized as domain with relevant sub-domains and will be validated as an instrument for Delphi approach need assessment. The key personnel of the project from Tennessee will provide input for development and validation of the instrument. To conduct a systematic need assessment and identify and refine areas of concern for producers and processors, domains and sub-domains will then be ranked by three panels of practitioners. First panel is consist of extension and food safety educators from academe. The other two panels are consist of exempt and non-exempt produce farmers (for Produce rule) and exempt and non-exempt processors (for Preventive Control rules). Results of the above-mentioned ranking as well as a survey with open-ended questions, will be used as the basis for development of dissemination material and add-on programs and activities for Produce and Preventive Control certification workshops in TSU. These Delphi rounds will be conducted with at least 10 participants in each panel to assure an adequately powered experiment (Johnston et al., 2014) and will be completed after obtaining Institutional Review Board approval of Tennessee State University. Review of the pre-selection instrument by internal and external evaluators of the project (Drs. John Ricketts and Kuhal Patel) and conduct of the Delphi rounds with above-mentioned adequately powered panel members are our approach for assuring the internal and external validity of the design.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During our pilot project study, we have been able to build capacity in our institution by supporting the certification of seven TSU faculty/staff to receive Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) instructor status, as well as three Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) lead instructor status for Human and Animal Foods. The prime institution, Public Health Microbiology Outreach and Research Laboratory of TSU (PI: A. Fouladkhah), had also stablished 1st Tennessean Growers' Food Safety Scholarship program, providing financial support for nine low-income farmers of Raw Agricultural Commodities to receive food safety certifications by attending PSA training. Further information about the program is available at: http://midtngrowers.com/produce-safety-alliance-grower-training/ (Accessed August 31, 2017). A similar state-wide program, with 34 participants, 11 finalists, and three awardees had been stablished for competition of Tennessean students working in FSMA and Food Safety area. Further information about the program is available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ift-vol-section-2017-spring-meeting-tickets-33476967511 (Accessed August 31, 2017). Both programs are expected to be continued during the second year of the program and perhaps beyond the life of the project depending on availability of extramural funding. The advisees involved in the pilot project have also received regional, local and national recognition for their work in Food Safety Modernization Act and Food Laws. As an example, a doctoral student of the program (Student: A. Allison, PhD committee chair: A. Fouladkhah) had been the sole awardee of the 2017 Feeding Tomorrow Scholarship of national Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), in Food Laws and Regulations Division; another advisee (Student: E. Troyanovskaya, MS committee chair: A. Fouladkhah) was among the top five finalists in competition of Fruit and Vegetable Processing Division of IFT17. Highlights of our FSMA work had been featured in April 2017 Commentary section of Journal of Extension, in an article entitled " The Need for Evidence-based Outreach in the Current Food Safety Regulatory Landscape," and recently in Just Food Symposium in Boston. Needs assessment surveys had been developed and are currently under the IRB review in the prime institution, the curricula development had been initiated and will be completed upon assimilation of needs assessment surveys. Project meetings for collaborators and stakeholders had been organized in the prime institution and jointly with other land-grant institutions active in FSMA outreach as well as members of Southern Center FSMA consortium.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fouladkhah, A. 2017. The Need for Evidence-Based Outreach in the Current Food Safety Regulatory Landscape. Commentary section, Journal of Extension 2017. 55(2): 2COM1.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fouladkhah, A., 2017. Regulatory Requirements for Early-Career Labor and Emerging Entrepreneurs in the Current Food Safety Regulatory Landscape. Harvard Just Food? Forum on Labor across the Food System. Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, April 1, 2017.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Allison, A., Troyanovskaya, E., Fouladkhah, A. 2017. Highlights of Food Safety Modernization Act Requirements for Emerging Producers and Processors. TSU Public Health Microbiology Laboratory/2017 Spring Meeting of Volunteer (Tennessee) Section of Institute of Food Technologist Poster Competition, April 28, 2017, Nashville, TN.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Clardy, A., Crudup, S. 2017. Growing and Analyzing International Alternative Vegetables for Production, Marketing and Medicinal Properties in Tennessee. Association of 1890 Research Directors: Meeting 21st Century Challenges Through Innovation. Atlanta, GA April 1-4, 2017. Abstract No. 46-645
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Clardy, A., Crudup, S. 2017. Production of Bottle Ground and Bitter Melon in Tennessee. Association of 1890 Research Directors: Meeting 21st Century Challenges Through Innovation. Atlanta, GA April 1-4, 2017. Abstract No. 46-655
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Allison, A., Troyanovskaya, E., Chowdhury, S., and Fouladkhah, A. 2017. Synergistic Effect of Heat and Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure for Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes. International Association for Food Protection 2017 Annual meeting, Tampa, Florida. Abstract No. 14475.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Daniels, E., Chowdhury, S., Fouladkhah, A. 2016. Reducing a Pathogen of Public Health Concern through Application of Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure. 2016 Conference of Meharry Medical College, Translational Research Center. November 10, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fouladkhah, A. Food Safety Burden and Regulatory Compliance for Emerging Entrepreneurs. Partners of the Americans Farmer-to-farmer program, ISA University, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, and August 28, 2017.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fouladkhah A. Microbial Food Safety for Current and Emerging Entrepreneurs. Partners of the Americans Farmer-to-farmer program, ISA University, Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, August 31, 2017.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fouladkhah, A. Microbial Food Safety and Transboundary Diseases. USDA NIFA Multicultural Scholars Program, Summer Experiential Learning. Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN. May 16 2017.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Fouladkhah, A., Ricketts, J., Clardy A., Fleming, R Building Institutional Capacity for Assisting Producers and Processors in the Current Food Safety Regulatory Landscape: Tennessee State University Update. Southern Region Food Safety Outreach Project Directors Seminar, Orlando, FL. May 9-10, 2017
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Fouladkhah, A. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Effects on Small Producers and Processors. Small Farm Expo, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, July 21, 2016.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2016 Citation: Fouladkhah, A. Regulatory Affairs and Epidemiology in the Current Food Safety Landscape. University of Tennessee, Department of Food Science and Technology. Knoxville, TN, February 25, 2016.