Developing a training program for produce farm inspectors and investigators, and preparing a cadre of instructors to deliver the training. - Funding Opportunity RFA-FD-15-041
Project Abstract
The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) seeks to achieve the following
overarching goals through this project:
1. Significantly increase FDA's capacity to prepare instructors across the US to
deliver training to regulators at all levels;
2. Create a competency-based curriculum framework for FDA's Produce Safety
program in alignment with the National Curriculum Standard; and
3. Modify the FDA Produce Farm Investigations program in accordance with the
instructional design approach as outlined in the FOA and already in use by IFPTI.
In order to achieve these overarching goals, IFPTI will, during the project period, satisfy
the following deliverables:
1. Deliver the Instructor Skills Training (IST) course, which IFPTI developed in 2014
and successfully piloted in 2015, to IFSS regulatory Subject Matter Experts
(SMEs) on the best practices for instructing and delivering courses on the new
FSMA regulations;
2. Update DHRD's Produce Farm Investigations training program to include goals,
objectives, learning outcomes, and competencies using the instructional design
approach outlined in the announcement and as already practiced by IFPTI;
3. Design and develop DHRD's new FSMA Produce Safety training program to
include goals, objectives, learning outcomes, and competencies using the IFPTI
Curriculum Development Process and the instructional design approach as
outlined in the FOA and already in use by IFPTI; and
4. Design, develop, and deliver training for instructors (Course-Specific Instructor
Training, or CSIT) on how to instruct and deliver specific classroom courses
being developed under the new FSMA regulations (e.g., Preventive Controls for
Human Food and Animal Food, and others as feasible).
The proposed project has the potential to reach a significant portion of the food regulatory
professionals who need to be trained on the new FSMA requirements, along with
regulatory officials who perform inspections and investigations of produce farms. The
project will also continue to build upon the efforts of the Partnership for Food Protection
(PFP) Working Group related to the design and development of a competency-based,
National Curriculum Standard for regulatory professionals to help create a truly integrated
food safety system.
