The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) Applied Science, Law, and Policy: Fellowship in Food Protection program is designed to provide food regulatory professionals, from all areas of food protection who have from 2 to 10 years of experience, with critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills, within the framework of food regulatory science, law, and policy.
Mission:
To meet the national (and global) need for an integrated food protection system that ensures the safety of the U.S. food supply.
The Fellowship focuses on three key concepts:
- Acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities through formal (classroom), informal (networking), and experiential (reflection on field work) experience, exploration, and mentorship.
- Contributing to the food protection body of knowledge by engaging in mutually- beneficial learning experiences with colleagues, coworkers, mentors, and IFPTI Fellows.
- Expanding the food protection knowledge base and the integrated network of food protection professionals.
Goals:
- Provide a high quality professional development experience for Journey and Technical professional level state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulators.
- Prepare Journey and Technical professional level state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulators for long-term career growth and leadership potential.
- Create and train a core group of state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulators forming a resource network of skilled professionals.
- Strengthen the capacity for an integrated food safety system.
Target Audience and Scope:
The IFPTI Fellowship program is designed for state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulatory professionals with 2 to 10 years of experience. Throughout the Fellowship program, Fellows are expected to share their knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned with their cohort, colleagues, and the food protection community.
Eligibility:
- Applicants to the IFPTI Fellowship program must meet the following requirements:
- Journey or Technical with 2 to 10 years of experience as a state, local, tribal, or territorial food protection professional.
- Completed FDA ORAU Level 1 retail or manufactured foods curriculum.
- Completed FD 170 Application of the Basics of Inspection and Investigation or equivalent training.
- Desire to pursue a long-term food protection career.
- United States citizenship.
Training Dates:
All week-long training seminars will be held in Battle Creek, Michigan. Seminars are 8:00 – 5:00 Monday through Thursday and 8:00 - 12:00 noon on Friday.
Fellows must attend all seminars in their entirety:
- August 11-16, 2013
- November 4-8, 2013
- March 3-7, 2014
- June 21-25, 2014 (Association of Food and Drug Officials Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado)
Content:
This program is a series of three week-long training sessions held in Battle Creek, Michigan over the period of one year.
The sessions are divided in the following seminar style classes:
- Week One - Applied Law and Compliance.
- Week Two - Policies and Strategies and the Impact of Science.
- Week Three - Food Systems Control Applications and Prevention, Intervention, and Response.
Learning Objectives:
After completing this program, participants should be able to act as a resource within their agency and for other food safety regulators regarding:
- Interpretation, implication, and application of food science.
- Interpretation, implication, and application of federal, state, and local laws.
- Interpretation, implication, and application of federal, state, and local policies, strategies for compliance, and enforcement tools.
Competencies:
Fellows will be expected to achieve competencies related to:
- Continuous learning
- Reasoning
- Decision-making
- Information dissemination
- Communication skills
- Self-management
- Interagency cooperation
- Teamwork
Mentors:
Fellows will work with primary and secondary mentors on IFPTI Fellowship related projects. Contact with a mentor may include weekly contact such as email and phone calls. The mentor oversees the Fellow’s research, writing, capstone presentation preparation, and encourages overall professional development of the Fellow.
Required Fellowship Project Responsibilities:
- Attendance at all three week-long classes in Battle Creek, Michigan.
- Participation in Fellowship online learning community.
- Identify and research a current food safety or regulatory issue and the impact on the U.S. food safety system.
- Authorship and submission of an article for publication related to food protection, based on the Fellowship project.
- Fellowship project presentation upon Fellowship graduation at the 2014 AFDO Annual Conference.
Fellowship Links: