Building the Next Cadre of Food Inspection Investigators: A Federal, Stakeholder, and Academia Collaboration
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On average, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiates an inspection or regulatory action every 33 minutes! When FDA inspects food manufacturing facilities, warehouses, distributors, and farms to assess regulatory compliance, it ensures that food products consumed by the public meet the highest standards for safety. Inspections also require the specialized skills and knowledge of a public health investigator. Defined domestic and foreign inspection targets are mandated by FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act and are designed to ensure that domestic, high-risk facilities are inspected at least once every three years, and non-high-risk facilities are inspected at least once every five years. Maintaining a robust and competent cadre of food inspection investigators remains a priority to keep the U.S. food supply safe for all Americans.
Simply stated, inspections protect the food we consume. Public health investigators—with support from our public/private partnerships, industry stakeholder groups, and academia—help us fulfill our public health mission to protect the public health. It is in the spirit of collaboration that FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) has partnered with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and North Carolina State University (NC State) to create "Introduction to Public Health Food Inspections," the first-of-its-kind course to offer students a comprehensive understanding of federal regulatory food inspections and enforcement. This course will help FDA and our state partners begin to build a bench of competent investigators for today, tomorrow, and the years to come.
Over the past five years, FDA's approach to foreign and domestic inspections has been both thoughtful and deliberate. The COVID-19 pandemic required us to rework our business operations so that we could continue to carry out our vital public health mission while protecting our workforce. We employed a variety of previously used methods, while creating new and innovative approaches to ensure our regulatory decisions continued to meet the high FDA standards that patients and consumers have come to expect. As we continue to navigate the challenges posed by this unprecedented public health emergency (and prepare for the next to come), we remain steadfast in advancing our public health mandate to protect and promote public health and ensure that the products we regulate are safe for all Americans.
That is why this course is timely and relevant. "Introduction to Public Health Food Inspections" is an innovative course designed to help strengthen the public heath talent pipeline and re-invigorate a rewarding and meaningful career trajectory for students. Registration for the 16-week, in-person course is available now, and class begins August 19 for the Fall 2024 semester, based on NC State registration requirements. Students will obtain a deep understanding of regulatory food procedures and practical applications at the state and federal levels.
Designed for senior undergraduate- and graduate-level students, the curriculum includes a review of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as well as in-depth education on food safety hazards and risks, foodborne illness outbreaks, the inspection process, documentation, enforcement tools, mock inspections, site visits, and an overview of food regulatory agencies and basic food law. The course will conclude with a brief discussion of career opportunities in this field and the associated benefits.
I want to share with you a conversation I had recently with FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. about this course. He said, “This partnership is an opportunity for the FDA to work with a first-rate university to offer an educational perspective for the next generation of food safety inspectors. The combination of FDA’s practical knowledge and NC State’s quantitative, agricultural, and scientific expertise is a great mix for a future in which regulation that stimulates safe, nutritious, and resilient food will be critical to the U.S. and the world.”
As the Associate Commissioner of ORA, I am excited about the opportunities this course affords degree and non-degree seeking students, especially during a time when recruitment and retention can be challenging. Managing and navigating an increasingly complex world of manufacturing and distribution requires FDA to continuously modernize and improve its inspectional capacity. This innovative course offering provides a new pathway to building a skilled inspectorate workforce that can safeguard you, as well as the products you and your family consume.
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In the future, FDA and NASDA hope this course can be replicated at other higher education institutions across the country. If you are interested in learning more about this course or future enrollment, please visit NASDA's website. Completion of the course will offer students both college credit and a certificate of completion to build their resumes, as well as a potential pathway for equivalency testing for specific topics. Students with these credentials and training will be sought after by FDA and other public health regulators and should strongly consider applying for vacant positions advertised on USA Jobs or on state or local public health job boards.
In a world where there are so many career possibilities, I believe that a career in public health offers a sense of meaning, fulfillment, and an opportunity to impact humanity, globally.
