Source: NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV submitted to
LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS AMONG NORTH CAROLINA EXTENSION PROGRAMS TO BUILD FOOD SAFETY EDUCATIONAL CAPACITY AND EXPAND INDUSTRY ACCESSIBILITY TO RESOURCES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1030908
Grant No.
2023-70020-40689
Cumulative Award Amt.
$355,400.00
Proposal No.
2023-03027
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2023
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2026
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[A4182]- Regional FSMA Center
Recipient Organization
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
(N/A)
RALEIGH,NC 27695
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
A recent survey of North Carolina county extension agents highlighted the need for increased food safety training among county agents who serve the state's local food system. In addition, the surge in food entrepreneurial growth highlights the need for an accessible training program relevant to the needs of small food businesses (home processors and very small processors), to assist with understanding and compliance of complex local, state, and federal food safety requirements (FSMA). The overall goal of this collaborative education and training project is to leverage and strengthen partnerships among two institutions that make up the NC Cooperative Extension Program, NC A&T State and NC State Universities, to develop and deliver a food safety training program that increases the educational capacity across the state among county agents and small food businesses. Project objectives include the following outcomes: 1) a series of food safety webinars delivered in partnership with state and federal regulatory agencies; 2) in-person workshops that will cover food safety (FSMA) topics and supplemental information on state-specific regulations; 3) a repository of food safety education and implementation resources; and 4) evaluation tools to assess the project's impact throughout the comprehensive and sequential approach to learning. The collaborative efforts of this project will strengthen partnerships among the NC Cooperative Extension Program to provide an established, long-term food safety educational platform that will help to support local food systems in NC that can be share across FSMA regional training centers.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
71260993020100%
Knowledge Area
712 - Protect Food from Contamination by Pathogenic Microorganisms, Parasites, and Naturally Occurring Toxins;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this collaborative education and training project is to develop and deliver a comprehensive, relevant, and engaging hybrid education and training program that is highly accessible among NC Cooperative Extension agents and small food processors/entrepreneurs to enhance knowledgetowards increasing thelikelihood of food safety regulatory compliance. This goal will be accomplished through the following objectives:1. Deliver webinar series featuring key food safety regulatory programs. This series is intended to help engage and connect both extension programs and the NC small food processing industry with their respective regulatory agencies.2. Develop and deliver in-person workshops. This objective seeks to build capacity among county extension agents and engage food industry participants through in-person, follow-up workshops for instruction and hands-on demonstrations that are relevant to food entrepreneurs and small processors. Through collaboration with NC Cooperative Extension and county agents, this proposal seeks to connect with rural counties and hard-to-reach areas of the state. The in-person workshops will be delivered in collaboration with county and state officials. The workshop materials will also include the use of a guide, or workbook, that participants can apply specific scenarios to each learning objective.3. Develop a repository of information for the industry and provide resources to programs beyond North Carolina. This objective seeks to provide an "all-in-one" site providing valuable food safety educational resources and factsheets for extension agents, food processing documents and templates, key North Carolina regulatory contacts and updates, and scheduled food safety training throughout the state which supports both on-farm and value-added production.4. Develop evaluation tools to assess short- and medium-term learning and impact throughout the sequential approach to learning. These tools will be developed to assess the progression of the project in meeting its short-, and medium-term outcomes.
Project Methods
Methods to achieve this collaborative education and training project include:Deliveryof a series of webinarsby state and federal regulatorsDuring the first year of the funding period, a webinar series will consist of bimonthly (every other month) webinars featuring North Carolina regulatory agencies and hot topics that fall under FDA jurisdiction. The target audience for these webinars includes both extension agents and small food businesses. Representatives from NC state regulatory programs, specifically the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (including the Food, Produce Safety, and Grade A Dairy Programs, as well as the Meat and Poultry Division) will be highlighted. In addition, the NC Department of Health and Human Services Food Protection Branch will be included in the webinar series. Each webinar will address (at least) the following information: roles and responsibilities of each program, jurisdiction of specific foods, regulations associated with specific foods, enforcement (what to expect during an inspection), and any updates that have recently occurred with specific state requirements.Developmentand delivery in-person workshops The strength of this proposal lies in the face-to-face workshops throughout the North Carolina for county agents and small food businesses. These workshops seek to expand information shared throughout the webinar series, provide training on topics identified through the survey, allow for hands-on application of food testing, and allow agents and business owners to meet their local regulators. The in-person workshops will be delivered in two rounds: round one will aim to build educational capacity among extension agents (train-the-trainer approach); round two will provide education and outreach material to food entrepreneurs and small food processors.The series of in-person workshops will first be delivered at each of the five NC extension districts with a focus on training and recruiting extension agents for future workshops for the industry. These first five workshops will be catered to extension agents and delivered as a train-the-trainer approach. After completing the workshops in each district, another round will be delivered at each of the five extension districts for food entrepreneurs and small food processors. With keeping in mind the rural, underserved populations, the two universities will work collaboratively to strategically locate in-person workshops. Our location of workshops will prioritize the 40 most distressed counties (known as Tier 1) to support and encourage economic activity.Particularly the Northeast and Southeast Extension Districts will be of a major focus as the majority of Tier 1 counties are located in these two districts. The workshops would be delivered in-person at local county extension offices and interested shared-use facilities for food entrepreneurial clients. PI Johnston and the team will build upon work previously conducted with the NC Cooperative Extension Program.Development of a repository of informationThe proposal team will develop fact sheets and materials which outline and support topics addressed during the webinar series. Materials developed from the webinar series will focus on regulatory jurisdiction of food products in North Carolina (e.g.: What food production is regulated by the Department of Health & Human Services vs. Department of Agriculture) and food safety topics related to current industry trends, such as food safety risks associated with novel food products. Templates and example food processing documentation will be developed to help FCS agents and food businesses implement food safety management systems. Material produced will be housed on existing extension websites at NC State & NC A&T, as well as the newly-created centralized website for this program. There is also opportunity for these documents to be housed at the Southern Center's Southern Regional Center for Food Safety Training, Outreach and Technical Assistance website and the Food Safety Clearinghouse website. The authors also recognize concurrent proposals that this project would support. The final goal of this centralized website is to set a clear, advertised schedule for in-person and online food safety training opportunities across North Carolina. To meet the specific educational needs of participants, trainings such as Safe Plates is available for those under the jurisdiction of NCDHHS and on-farm sanitation, GMPs, and PCHF training is available for those under NCDA&CS's jurisdiction. These trainings and workshops are already developed and are currently available via team members on this project.Development of evaluation tools to assess short- and medium-term learning and impactThese tools will be developed to assess the progression of the project in meeting its short, and medium-term outcomes. To evaluate the effectiveness of the workshops, we will develop an evaluation survey to determine if changes in knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and self-reported behaviors were met. Prior to the start of each of each workshop, learners will complete a short knowledge assessment to determine baseline knowledge. At the end of the workshop learners will complete a post-training evaluation, which will include a knowledge assessment, retrospective attitudes, self-efficacy assessments, and self-reporting of behaviors. Three to four months after the conclusion of training, learners will receive another post-training evaluation to identify whether gains in knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy were retained and identify if there were any changes in behaviors. Results of the evaluations will be published, shared at state and national FCS conferences and shared accordingly with the Southern Center.

Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:During the first project year (2023-2024), the project reached two broad audience categories. This included 1) North Carolina Cooperative Extension personnel and 2) individuals among our state's food system. The seven-week webinar series aimed to help increase extension county agents' knowledge of food regulatory structures within multiple NC regulatory agencies. This extension personnel audience was made up of Family and Consumer Sciences agents, Food Science Extension associates, and county agents with the Local Foods Program within the NC State University and NC A&T State Extension networks. County agents play a vital role in educating the broader public, particularly home processors and food entrepreneurs. This webinar series, hosted by various regulatory specialists and extension employees, not only provided important information about how foods are regulated in North Carolina, but also introduced agents to their local regulators and project leaders in case food safety assistance is needed in the future. The second target audience reached by this project included individuals and members of communities representing the general public who are engaged with work in our state's food systems. The audience at webinars from outside NC Cooperative Extension included farmers markets' leaders and vendors, food entrepreneurs, and home processors. Within the public, efforts of this project extended to those located in rural areas and BIPOC populations. Content shared within the webinar series was also included in "Small Farms Week" at NC A&T University, an annual event which assists rural, black farmers in expanding their farming operations with novel farming techniques and increase company profits by incorporating value-added products into their business. Participants heard about regulatory considerations in a roundtable, open discussion format and were provided resources for the compliant manufacturing of various types of value-added products. Project participants also participated in formal Extension-based classroom education sessions, both online and in-person. Two novel curriculums were developed to help teach rural communities about regulatory requirements and food safety considerations. The first curriculum reviewed the requirements of becoming a home processor of food products (an online education session for Richmond County). When developing this curriculum, considerations were given to products the participants were considering manufacturing and insight was provided about products not allowed to be manufactured from the home kitchen in NC. The second curriculum that was developed covered topics about the food safety and regulatory requirements of growing and processing herbs (an in-person education session for a Medicinal Herbs group in Yadkin County). Emphasis was provided to what processing practices could be done at a home residence verses what practices required a commercial food facility and the differences between a food and a dietary supplement. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results of this project have been communicated through two main avenues. The first is directly from project leaders when they are in the community performing Extension-based work. When we have the opportunity to tell North Carolinians about the work we are doing, be it the Connections webinar series, upcoming workshops, or information and tools available on the Food Safety Repository, we are able to not only link it to the conversation at hand, but we are also able to show how these resources could be of service to them in the future. The second avenue is the Food Safety Repository itself. Since this website is hosted on the NCSU Extension portal network, it is easy for other NC Extension personnel to find food safety information they need, share it to their own Extension websites, and be in communication with this project's team in case of questions or the need for consultation. We have already seen positive interactions in the communities we serve after creating tools for the Food Safety Repository. This can be seen through the spread of our North Carolina Farmers Market flyer. PI (Johnston) and Project Coordinator (Nicholas) have been asked to speak at the North Carolina Farmers Market Association Conference in Spring 2025. In a 90-minute presentation, they will share how this material was developed and answer questions from Farmers Market leaders across North Carolina. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, the program will continue to develop curricula and deliver workshops to Extension agents, local foods programs, and other food system leaders. Project leaders will conduct no less than four workshops for continuing education at multiple locations at NC Extension Centers across North Carolina. These workshops will include identified food safety topics, keynote speakers from the food processing industry as well as collaboration with state and county regulators. Food safety topics were identified through polling at the North Carolina Extension Conference, focus group-type discussions with the project's Advisory Board as well as feedback from the 2024 Connections webinar series surveys. Keynote speakers will include industry leaders who have successfully grown their food businesses in North Carolina and are willing to share their experiences, pitfalls and advice with agents and other food entrepreneurs. Finally, we will be seeking a collaboration with regulatory partners, working in the communities where these events will be hosted. With our established connections to regulatory leaders in the state's capital area, we will be in contact with inspectors in the county or region of our events in order to make introductions of the regulators to the public, help to demystify the inspection process, and build bonds between regulatory professionals and the communities they serve. Efforts will continue to be made to populate the Food Safety Repository website with tools to help food businesses. Currently, customizable logs are being developed that can help companies comply with documentation requirements for regulatory and auditing purposes. Logs will include, but are not limited to: temperature recording logs, allergen labeling logs, receiving logs, production scheduling logs, metal-on-metal check logs, and employee training documentation. Logs will be posted in an editable format with areas for companies to customize to their needs. Logs will also be translated into Spanish for companies who employ Spanish-speaking employees.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In the first year of this project, our program was able to fully schedule, implement, and document the project's first goal of delivering a regulatory-based webinar series. From March 2024, through May, 2024 we hosted seven webinars with nine different food safety experts from regulatory agencies and NC State Extension. This 'Connections' series included: the NC Department of Agriculture's (NCDA) Produce Safety Program, Meat & Poultry Inspection Division, and the Food Program, The NC Department of Health and Human Service's Food Protection Program, and NC State Food Safety Extension working in the areas of produce safety, manufactured foods, and retail foodservice. The webinars included the following details: March 15, 2024: Overview of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) Produce Safety Program (webinar provided by NCDA&CS Produce Safety Program) April 5, 2024: NC Home Processing Requirements (webinar provided by NCDA&CS Food Program) April 19, 2024: Overview of Commercial Processing Requirements (webinar provided by NCDA&CS Food Program) May 3, 2024: Overview of NC Department of Health and Human Services Requirements for Food Businesses (webinar provided by the NCDHHS Food Protection Program) May 10, 2024: Overview of the NCDA&CS Meat and Poultry Inspection Division (webinar provided by the NCDA&CS MPID) May 17, 2024: The Fine Print: Registration, Exemptions, and Licensing (webinar provided by NCSU extension personnel) May 31, 2024: Food Labeling and Allergens (webinar provided by NCSU extension personnel) We had 448 registrants for the webinars and 172 participants over the series. Each webinar was recorded and posted to the Food Safety Extension Lab's YouTube channel. We have had over 200 views of the recordings since posting, with NCDA's Food Program and Home Processing presentations boasting 94 total views. These recordings were also posted to the Food Safety Repository website; the recordings were outlined and highlights from each presentation were transcribed, including all resources and contacts presented by our speakers. Finally, a survey assessment tool, developed in Qualtrics, was presented to participants at the end of each webinar. In this survey, participants were able to share their feedback about the material presented as well as provide insight into other topics they would like this project to develop as continuing education opportunities. This feedback will help project leaders shape year-2 and year-3 food safety workshops. The program developed and began populating the Food Safety Repository (Goal 3), which is housed in a NCSU Extension website (https://foodsafetyrepository.ces.ncsu.edu/). This website has been 'live' since March 2024 and has been populated with food safety resources that include, but are not limited to current food safety informational posts, Extension factsheets, Food Safety plan and Recall plan templates, and our Connections webinar series (an estimated 1,500 views to the site). To this date, the most viewed pages are for the Food Safety plan and Recall plan templates (201 views), our NC Farmers Market Flyer resource (149 views), current grant opportunities for food processors and the Connections webinar highlight page on Labeling and Allergens (each with 111 views).

Publications