Development of a Diverse and Competent Food Safety Compliance Workforce to Enhance Trust in a Secure Food System
Food Safety ConnectED is a USDA-funded initiative led by five academic institutions (NC State University, The Ohio State University, University of Delaware, George Washington University) and the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI). The project focuses on:
Developing a lower-level curriculum introducing undergraduate students to careers in regulatory, industry, and certification sectors
Launching a national marketing campaign in 2026 to elevate awareness of food safety careers
Building a Food Safety Mentor Network to connect students with professionals
Hosting a Community of Practice (CoP) and exploring the formation of a Food Safety Workforce Alliance to sustain and expand these efforts
Current Projects
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Our team has been working to create engaging, scenario-based learning modules that highlight the oversight processes behind a safe food supply. These modules will allow students to explore real-world auditing and inspection challenges.
Peer review of the draft curriculum will begin this summer, with final modules available for educators in 2026.
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We’ve launched a Food Safety Mentor Network Portal to connect students with professionals in government, industry, and certification bodies. Students and educators can use this platform to arrange guest lectures, job shadowing, facility tours, and more.
Explore our website and consider joining the portal as a mentor—or inviting your colleagues to do so.
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Planning is underway for a 2026 launch of a national marketing campaign designed to increase student awareness of food safety careers. We'll use analytics to refine messaging strategies and highlight impactful career pathways.
If you’re interested in supporting this effort—by sharing a testimonial, contributing marketing content, or helping amplify the campaign—
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In March, we hosted our first virtual Food Safety Educator Meetup, featuring Dr. Abigail Snyder (Cornell University), who shared her experience using auditing activities in their university creamery. The event was well received, and our next meetup is planned for October 8, 2025.
Interested in helping us plan future CoP events?
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We’re exploring the creation of an Alliance for Food Safety Workforce Development—a collaborative forum for academia, industry, and government to tackle workforce shortages. With sufficient support, we hope to host an inaugural Summit in 2026.
Upcoming events
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Virtual Community of Practice Event for Food Safety Educators
📅Tentative Date: October 8, 2025
Enhancing Trust in a Secure Food System
Development of a Diverse and Competent Food Safety Compliance Workforce
Food Inspectors, what do they do?
A food inspector is a food safety professional who evaluates the food safe management system of an establishment – a food production facility, food processing plant, restaurant, or other places along the food value chain.
Food inspectors are the first line defenders, protecting public health by ensuring food is safe to eat.
Food products are among the most-traded commodities in the world. As markets become increasingly globalized with each passing year, and as the world’s population continues to grow, the global food supply chain continues to increase in scale and complexity.
These trends impact the mass production and distribution of food, and as a result, food safety compliance has never been more important.
Our USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant-funded project is titled:
“Development of a Diverse and Competent Food Safety Compliance Workforce to Enhance Trust in a Secure Food System.”
Institutional Partnerships
We are collaborating with the following organizations, to meet the demands towards educating a highly competent and qualified auditing workforce:
North Carolina State University
National Association of State
Departments of Agriculture (NASDA)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
USDA
Association of Food and Drug Officials
Tuskegee University
George Washington University
University of Delaware
The Ohio State University
With support from:
International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI)