Webinars

Upcoming Webinars

• Intro to Gen-FS: An overview of the Genomics for Food and Feed Safety Collaboration Apr 30, 2026 (2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time)

  Gen-FS, the Interagency Collaboration on Genomics for Food and Feed Safety, unites several federal agencies: CDC, FDA, NIH-NLM-NCBI, USDA FSIS, APHIS, and ARS, alongside state public health laboratories and academic partners, to advance genomics-based food safety surveillance. As whole genome sequencing and related technologies become standard tools in pathogen detection and outbreak investigation, understanding how Gen-FS coordinates methods, validates sequencing approaches, and standardizes data will benefit the broader food safety community. This webinar will introduce participants to the structure, mission, and core activities of Gen-FS, with a focus on how publicly available genomic surveillance data is generated, quality-assured, and made accessible. Attendees will gain foundational knowledge to better utilize Gen-FS resources in research, regulatory, and applied food safety contexts. This webinar will be followed up by a half-symposia session focused on recent advances in Gen-FS at the 2026 IAFP Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

  Learning Objectives

  By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe the structure and mission of Gen-FS, including the roles of participating federal agencies and collaborating partners such as state public health laboratories and academic institutions.

  2. Explain how Gen-FS coordinates genomics methods and data standards, including efforts to improve sequence data quality and support machine-readable contextual data across clinical, food, and environmental samples.

  3. Identify key Gen-FS resources such as NCBI Pathogen Detection and describe how these can be accessed and applied by academia, third-party laboratories, food production companies, and government scientists.

  Presenters

  • Heather Carleton, Speaker CDC
  • William Klimke, Speaker NCBI
  • Ruth Timme, Moderator FDA
• The Critical Role of Hygienic Engineering in Today’s Food Production Apr 30, 2026 (11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern Time)

  Organized by the Sanitary Equipment and Facility Design PDG

  Hygienic Design is often misunderstood and undervalued in food safety management systems within food manufacturing companies, leading to severe negative effects. Including microbiological and chemical contamination, foreign objects, and allergen management issues. In this webinar we will provide an introduction to and definition of Hygienic Design to build a foundation of understanding to work from when answering the second question, “Why is Hygienic Design important to the food industry?” We will answer this second question by explaining the importance of Hygienic Design to the food industry and how it fits into a holistic food safety management approach.

  Learning Objectives:

  Participants will learn what is meant by the term Hygienic Design. This will be done by posing and answering the Question "What is Hygienic Design?"

  Participants will learn why Hygienic Design is important to the food industry and the history behind Hygienic Design Standards. This will be done by posing and answering the Question “Why is Hygienic Design Important to the food industry?”

  Presenters

  • Patrick Wouters, Speaker EHEDG
  • Dan Erickson, Speaker 3-A
  • Jason White, Moderator Fortrex
• Clostridium botulinum in Dairy: Risk, Control, and Prevention Strategies – A Live Expert Roundtable May 4, 2026 (12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Eastern Time)

  Organized by the Dairy Quality and Safety PDG

  Join us for a live, interactive roundtable discussion with industry experts as we explore where risk emerges in dairy systems (e.g., on dairy farms) and what practical control strategies work in real-world operations. This session will provide actionable insights for food manufacturing professionals and the larger food safety community.
  
  Topics to discuss will include understanding the hazard of Clostridium botulinum, the 2025-2026 outbreak of infant botulism in US, and managing risks in the dairy industry through prevention and control strategies. The webinar will have a specific focus on dairy powders but may cover other dry products.

  Learning Objectives:Explore how Clostridium botulinum risk emerges in dairy systems
  Review the 2025-2026 US outbreak
  Discuss practical strategies for managing Clostridium botulinum

  Presenters

  • Nicole Martin, Speaker Cornell University
  • Miquela Hanselman, Speaker NMPF
  • Kristin Schill, Speakers University of Wisconsin
  • Sarah Murphy, Moderator FDA
• Neurodivergent Thinking in Food Safety: Implications for Practice, Performance, and Inclusion May 20, 2026 (12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Eastern Time)

  Organized by the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council

  Recent evidence in a 2021 literature review suggests that the reported prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen globally since 2012, likely reflecting broader diagnostic criteria and increased public awareness. In addition, a 2023 review estimated that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects approximately 3.1% of adults worldwide. Although ASD and ADHD are associated with a wide variety of experiences and challenges, they are also characterized by distinctive cognitive and behavioral patterns that can offer valuable perspectives in safety-critical contexts such as food safety. Improving understanding of neurodivergence can help reduce barriers in the workplace, support professional development, and enable organizations to better recognize and value diverse ways of thinking.
  
  This webinar introduces neurodivergence in the context of food safety, supporting both employers and practitioners to create inclusive environments and helping neurodivergent IAFP members consider how their strengths can be applied across a range of food safety roles.

  Learning Objectives:

  1. Understand what causes the two most common types of neurodivergence, autism and ADHD, and how they impact people with them, including those working in the safety-critical sector.
  2.  Discover what interventions or support may help people with ADHD and/or autism achieve their full potential in the food industry.
  3. Explore how a wide range of food safety roles can align with, and benefit from, the strengths of people with ADHD and/or autism.

  Presenters

  • Andrea Brock, Speaker Thriveworks Counseling and Psychiatry
  • Deanna Zenger, Speaker Food Processing Skills Canada
  • Rounaq Nayak, Moderator University of West England, Bristol
  • John Boyce, Moderator Boyce Food Safety Consulting Ltd.
• Using Data Trends to Improve Microbial Risk Detection in Food Safety Systems May 28, 2026 (1:00 PM -2:00 PM Eastern Time)

  Food safety professionals routinely collect large volumes of data from environmental monitoring, process controls, and routine testing programs. However, these data are often used primarily for compliance rather than proactive risk detection. This webinar will demonstrate how trend-based analysis of routine monitoring data can help identify early signals of microbial risk before contamination events occur. Practical examples will illustrate how environmental testing results, temperature monitoring, and process control records can be used to detect emerging hazards and guide preventive actions. The session will also highlight risk-based approaches for prioritizing interventions and allocating resources to high-risk areas. By shifting from reactive to proactive data use, food safety teams can strengthen contamination prevention strategies and improve decision-making within food manufacturing and supply chain environments.

  Learning Objectives:

  1.Describe common challenges in detecting microbial risks in food processing environments.

  2.Explain how trend analysis of routine monitoring data can identify emerging contamination risks.

  3.Apply risk-based thinking to prioritize corrective actions in food safety systems.

  4.Identify practical strategies for using environmental and process data to improve contamination prevention

  Presenters

  • Mavis Okafor Speaker and Moderator Food Safety & Quality Systems Analyst (MBA Candidate), Case Western Reserve University
  • Cole Calbaugh, Speaker Food Safety and Microbiology Specialist, Mckee Foods Corporation
  • Ikelle Michael, Speaker Lecturer Food and Fermentation Microbiology, Purdue University
• How FSMA Qualified Exempt and Not Covered Produce Growers are Filling Learning Gaps Using Innovative Education Program Delivery Methods May 29, 2026 (2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time)

  Produce growers exempt from the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule operate with reduced regulatory burden; however, this exemption removes structured pathways for implementation, creating variability in how critical food safety practices are interpreted and applied. In the absence of standardized guidance, growers often rely on informal knowledge or trial-and-error approaches, leading to confusion and inconsistent adoption of practices such as cleaning, sanitation, and postharvest handling. This webinar explores this regulatory gap through a complementary approach that integrates the West Virginia University-developed Willing–Ready–Able (WRA) framework with the UNH Extension Jumpstart to Produce Safety Program. The WRA framework was developed to characterize differences in grower readiness, recognizing that producers are not starting from the same level of engagement. In parallel, Jumpstart provides practical, on-farm support—including risk assessments, one-on-one technical assistance, food safety plan development, and farmer-led microlearning resources—to help growers implement produce safety practices. Together, these approaches address both the “why” and the “how” of food safety adoption. WRA functions as a diagnostic tool to inform when and how support should be delivered, while Jumpstart delivers the tools, guidance, and follow-up needed for implementation. This integrated model improves training efficiency, reduces reliance on trial-and-error, and supports adoption of practices that enhance produce safety. The session examines economic impacts of the regulatory gap and how targeted education improves efficiency and market readiness, informed by Extension and grower perspectives.

  Objective 1 (WHY – Regulatory Gap)

  By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to identify at least 2 challenges that Qualified Exempt (QE) and Not Covered (NC) growers face related to accessing produce safety information, education, or training that may limit their ability to access and apply the resources they need to incorporate best produce safety practices on their farm.

  Objective 2 (WHY THIS APPROACH – Willing-Ready-Able Role)

  By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to explain how the Willing-Ready-Able (WRA) framework identifies differences in grower readiness and informs targeted outreach strategies, using a scenario-based example:

  Objective 3 (HOW – Jumpstart Program)

  By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to state two ways they can use Jumpstart microlearning videos to educate QE and NC growers on low-barrier strategies to improve produce safety on their farms.

  Objective 4 (HOW – Integration)

  By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to match a grower scenario to an appropriate support strategy by applying WRA classification and identifying a corresponding Jumpstart resource, as evaluated through an interactive example.

  Objective 5 (VALUE – Economic Impact)

  By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to list at least two economic or operational benefits of targeted produce safety support, including reduced time burden, improved efficiency, or increased market readiness. 

  Presenters

  • Jesica Temple, Speaker West Virginia University
  • Mary Saucier Choate, Speaker University of New Hampshire
  • Ron Howard, Speaker Brodis Blueberries
  • Anton Bekkerman, Speaker University of New Hampshire
  • Christopher Ashwell, Moderator University of Hawaii - Manoa
• The State of Food Safety Professionals in a High-Risk World Jun 10, 2026 (1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern Time)

  Organized by IAFP and Partnership for Food Safety Education

  The State of Food Safety Professionals in a High-Risk World brings together industry leaders and frontline experts to explore the evolving challenges facing today’s health and food safety professionals. This 60-minute webinar examines what’s changed and what’s ahead through a panel discussion. Hear real-world perspectives and practical insights on the state of food safety professionals. Join us to learn, connect, and engage with leaders committed to advancing and strengthening the food safety profession.

  Webinar Goals

  ● Raise awareness of the co-hosting organizations as trusted leaders and advocates for health and food safety professionals, academics

  ● Highlight current challenges, trends, and pressures facing the profession

  ● Provide practical insights and peer validation for attendees

  ● Position the hosts as ongoing resources (education, tools, community, research)