That chicken in the freezer may be safer to eat in the future.
The Food and Drug Administration granted Auburn University $6.5 million to develop a national food protection training program.
"The Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law in January supports development of a national food protection training effort, and Auburn will receive $6.5 million during the five-year program," said Leslie Parsons, assistant director of business operations for the University. "Auburn will work with the FDA to strengthen protection of our food supply and improve the way we detect and respond to foodborne illness."
Parsons said Auburn plans to assist in developing online instructions that will complement hands-on training for food safety personnel.
Auburn will partner with other universities including Alabama A&M, North Carolina State and Purdue to infuse future FDA training with the latest research and technology regarding disease detection and food safety.
The grant will not only provide training for food safety and protection, but will also allow for the continued advancement of the research program.
"Funding of this nature advances our overall research program and increases our reputation nationally," Parsons said. "It provides opportunity for interdisciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration, and through the Virtual Food Systems Training Consortium will be used to create virtual training models and protocols that can be used throughout the food system."
Patricia Curtis, director of the Auburn University Food Systems Initiative, will be directing the Virtual Food Systems Training Consortium.
"I am particularly excited to see the Virtual Food Systems Training Consortium selected by the FDA," Curtis said. "It speaks to our cutting-edge research not only in the area of food safety, but also to our innovative methods for delivering instruction."
Parsons said the Virtual Food Systems Training Consortium will reduce the costs and time of providing quality training in food safety.
"University involvement in FDA training guarantees that the latest research on methods in food detection and safety will be available immediately to program directors and instructors," Parsons said. "Because of its unique collaborative structure, the Virtual Food Systems Training Consortium offers the expertise available at several universities rather than just one.
"Historically, advanced training meant spending time and money to travel to a national training center. Now, a significant portion of that training can be made available virtually, online, on demand."
According to Parsons, faculty from across campus are contributing their expertise to this effort.
Their research addresses many food safety concerns in areas including microbiology, poultry science, egg safety, fish and seafood safety, retail food safety, manufacturing safety, feed mill safety, risk and crisis communications, food sensor design, assessment and information technology.
The work of these researchers will serve to inform all aspects of the training program, thus ensuring those on the front lines of the nation's food systems are optimally equipped to maintain the integrity of the food supply.
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