Food Safety Education Professional Development Group
Mission Statement: To provide a forum for IAFP members to learn, network, and share information and resources about education, training and outreach for various audiences thereby advancing food safety knowledge, promoting behavior change and improving practices that mitigate food safety risks around the world.
Meeting Information
Virtual: TBD
In Person: IAFP 2025
July 27, 2025, Huntington Convention Center, Cleveland, Ohio
How to Join
Involvement in committees and professional development groups (PDGs) offers Members the opportunity to share a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Members of committees and PDGs are the architects of the Association structure. They plan, develop and institute many of the Association's projects, including workshops, publications and educational sessions. Technical challenges facing the food safety industry are discussed, examined and debated. Members may volunteer to serve on any number of committees or PDGs that plan and implement activities to meet the Association's mission.
Membership on a PDG is voluntary (not by appointment) and may vary from year to year.
IAFP Members can manage their PDG involvement by logging in to the IAFP Web site. At the Member Dashboard, click “Edit Profile.” Your profile has two tabs: Contact Info and Professional Info. Select the Professional Info tab and update the PDGs you would like to participate in. We highly recommend that you contact the PDG chairperson for each group to let them know you have joined their PDG.
Non-members can contact Dina Siedenburg, dsiedenburg@foodprotection.org, for more information.
1. Avoid the Food Safety Education and Culture PDGs meeting in the same time slot.
Board Response: Board Response: IAFP will make an effort to avoid this overlap.
2. If approved, avoid the Nutrition & Food Safety Education and Culture PDGs meeting at the same time.
Board Response: Board Response: IAFP will make an effort to avoid this overlap.
3. Could similar PDGs combine meetings every few years together?
Board Response: Board Response: If both PDGs agree and make a request, we will make an effort to combine. Requests should be made by November 1.
4. Could communications, outreach, and education switch up and not end on a Wednesday?
Board Response: Board Response: The Program Committee makes an effort to schedule topic areas on alternating days each year.
2023 Board Response to Recommendations
Dr. Ellen Shumaker recommended as the Vice-Chair of the Food Safety Education PDG.
Board Response: Approved.
Since IAFP and IFT take place at the same time, members request that the board avoids conflicts for other major associations’ meetings in the future.
Board Response: IAFP has always considered the timing of other scientific meetings in the annual meeting planning process and shares timing with other organizations.
Members would like the Association to support students traveling to IAFP when they have to acquire a VISA.
Board Response: IAFP routinely provides a letter of support to assist attendees in attending the Annual Meeting.
A member suggested that the Education PDG have a stronger focus on university students in Food Science and developing their education skills.
Board Response: The Board would like more clarification on what the PDG is requesting.
A PDG member asked that the board consider scheduling sponsored symposia/roundtables at different times from each other. This year, two PDG-sponsored symposia are at the same time.
Board Response: We will do our best to avoid conflicts with simultaneous sessions sponsored by the same PDGs and addressing the same topics.
2022 Board Response to Recommendations
None.
2021 Board Response to Recommendations
Recommend Shauna Henley as Vice Chair of the Food Safety Education PDG.
Board Response: Agree.
2020 Board Response to Recommendations
Recommend the Board consider including elements of online/virtual contributors for the conference next year, for those that still might not be able to attend in person. For example: a symposium where the convenor and speakers are all at the conference in the USA, yet there may be one virtual contributor giving a live presentation online or a pre-recorded presentation and being present virtually to answer questions, etc.
Board Response: This will be discussed with the Program Committee.
2019 Board Response to Recommendations
Recommendation for approval of Wenqing (Wennie) Xu as the Vice Chair.
Board Response: Agree.
Recommend the Board to adopt the new mission statement for Food Safety Education PDG as follows: “To provide a forum for IAFP Members and interested others to learn, network, and share information and resources about education, training and outreach for various audiences thereby advancing food safety knowledge, promoting behavior change and improving practices that mitigate food safety risks around the world.”
Board Response: Agree with the new statement, but suggest removal of “and interested others” from the mission statement.
2018 Board Response to Recommendations
None.
2017 Board Response to Recommendations
None.
2016 Board Response to Recommendations
The Food Safety Education PDG recommends that the Board approve Francie Buck as Vice Chair to begin serving at the IAFP 2017 PDG meeting.
Board Response: Agree
Accessibility to information regarding symposium success/failure.
Board Response: This recommendation is not clear. The Program Committee provides notification to all symposium submitters. If questions remain, submitters may contact the IAFP office.
Provision of a key point sheet of items from the Board to PDG Chair would be helpful where the Board Liaison is unable to make the start of the meeting.
Board Response: It may be possible to distribute this information prior to the PDG meetings.
Recommendation for Roundtable and Symposium set up that water is provided in the room for all speakers and panel members. This was not available this year in Roundtable organized by the PDG.
Board Response: Agree. Water should be available in the session rooms.
2015 Board Response to Recommendations
A more efficient method of keeping lists of PDG members up to date is needed. Currently a roster list is generated by the IAFP office and any new member requests have to be manually input by the Chair/Vice Chair during the year. This relies on emails being picked up and actioned one-by-one. A method of automatic updating, perhaps linked to member choices of PDGs on the website, would be more efficient and would make sure that new members are not being missed.
Board Response: IAFP staff will look into making these changes.
It is recommended that a short break is included in the PDG meeting schedule to accommodate PDGs leaving a room and setting up for the next group before the next PDG is due to start.
Board Response: IAFP staff will work on schedule to allow for changeover of rooms
from one group to another.
It is recommended that a static laptop be provided in the PDG rooms on PDG meeting day that is already linked to the projector and has WiFi Internet capability. This would save set-up time at the beginning and crossovers between meetings where laptops have to be switched.
Board Response: Computer, projector, and screen will be provided in each PDG meeting room beginning in 2016.
2014 Board Response to Recommendations
Recommends that each PDG be allowed ONE symposium or round table idea that they choose to be in the program since they have worked hard to put this idea together and have a community interested in the topic. The Program Committee will receive the one idea chosen from each of the PDGs and then build the rest of the program around these ideas from all other ideas submitted by Association members
Board Response: The Board will encourage the Program Committee to consider this request.
Webinars
A 360° Review for Food Safety Training-Perspectives From Trainers and Business OwnersApr 13, 2022
Organized by: The Food Safety Education PDG
Have we not trained enough employees on food safety? How do we know our training is effective? Questions like these lead us to reflect on what we have been doing in the past decade towards food safety training. This webinar aims to provide insights on food safety training from both trainers’ and company owners’ perspectives. The first speaker is a successful business owner from a company with both manufacturing and retail functions. He will present an overview of the different levels of food safety training and share his first-hand experience of introducing food safety training in a graduated fashion so both retail and manufacturing staffers can deepen their understanding and engagement over time. The second speaker will share his extensive experience as a trainer from a company that provides food safety training for various clients. The third speaker is from academia who has been providing online food safety training for companies, with interesting research involved. We believe this webinar will provide a comprehensive point of view for our members.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the differences and the unanticipated challenges in food safety training in retail and manufacturing environments
Understand how food safety training can provide a basis of collaboration between retail and manufacturing environments
Gain perspectives on the diversity of food safety training for different companies
Understand both trainer and company owner’s expectations on food safety training
Better appreciate the role that research plays in food safety training
Clint Stevenson, PresenterNorth Carolina State University
Wenqing Xu, ModeratorLouisiana State University
Shauna Henley, ModeratorUniversity of Maryland
Getting Social with Food SafetyMar 16, 2022
From Facebook and YouTube to Instagram and TikTok, social media continues to evolve. This webinar aims to provide the audience with a fresh perspective of utilizing social media for food safety education by focusing on two relatively new platforms - Instagram and Tiktok. The first speaker is a social media strategist from LSU AgCenter, who will present the best management practices that can help everyone trying to convey education via social media. The second speaker from NC State will showcase their experience on food safety education using Tiktok from a content expert perspective. The third speaker from the Acheson Group will demonstrate their Instagram food safety education strategies and impact.
