This episode features a panel of the Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA)'s lead instructors. They discuss virtual food safety training in the age of COVID.

Connie Landis Fisk is a northwest regional extension associate for the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA). PSA has a temporary policy allowing its trainers to deliver their Grower Training Course remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Connie offers a weekly office hour to share tips and answer questions about using Zoom for those remote trainings.

Amanda Evans-Lara is a principle food safety consultant and compliance specialist with HACCP Mentor, a website that provides tools, tips, and training to help food businesses comply with global, customer, and regulatory Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and food safety requirements. She has over 28 years of experience working with Australian and international food businesses. Amanda is an FSPCA lead instructor for Preventive Controls for Human Food and Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessments courses. 

Charles Kalish is a managing member and co-founder of Food Safety Guides, a food safety and quality consulting and training firm that specializes in remote consulting. He is a lead instructor for FSPCA's Preventive Controls (Human and Animal), Foreign Supplier Verification Programs, and Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessment courses. Charlie is also a Safe Quality Food (SQF) trainer and lead instructor for the International Food Protection Institute (IFPTI)'s Instructor Skills Training.

Michael Kalish is a managing member and co-founder of Food Safety Guides. He is a lead instructor for FSPCA's Preventive Controls (Human and Animal), Foreign Supplier Verification Programs, and Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessment courses. Michael is also an SQF trainer and lead instructor for IFPTI's Instructor Skills Training.

A special thanks to our friend and previous podcast guest Kathy Gombas (Ep. 26) for spearheading this discussion. Kathy is a member of FSPCA's Steering Committee. She also serves on Food Safety Magazine's Editorial Advisory Board.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to the panel [12:23] about:

• The features, benefits, and ins and outs of using Zoom, Google Hangouts, and other digital platforms to perform food safety certification courses
• Maintaining high levels of participation and engagement during online training
• How training and testing policies and procedures have changed to fit a virtual format
• Conducting oral exams vs. standardized tests online
• Challenges and limitations of web-based teaching and training

News Mentioned in This Episode
Salmonella Newport Outbreak Linked to Onions [3:46]
FDA Announces New Protocol for the Development and Registration of Treatments for Preharvest Ag Water Antimicrobial [5:40] | Water Disinfection: A Practical Approach to Calculating Dose Values for Pre- and Postharvest Applications (2001)
Pillsbury Announces "Safe to Eat Raw" Products [10:03]  

Paul Shapiro is the author of the bestselling book, Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World. He is also CEO of The Better Meat Co., a company that uses fermentation to turn microbes into alternative meat. Paul is a five-time TEDx speaker, the host of the Business for Good Podcast, and a long-time leader in food sustainability.

As an authority on food and agriculture sustainability, Paul has been interviewed by numeorous news outlets—ranging from CNN to StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson. He has also published hundreds of articles in publications like the Washington Post, Scientific American, FORTUNE, and academic journals. In 2023, Paul was named as a Most Admired CEO by the Sacramento Business Journal.

Johanna Velez is Vice President of Quality Assurance for Monin Americas, having joined the brand in 2002. With more than 27 years in the food industry, Johanna has a wealth of experience in leading, directing, and guiding the company’s food safety and quality programs at all Monin North America locations. She successfully led Monin to achieve Safe Quality Foods (SQF) and Organic certifications for both the Clearwater, Florida and Sparks, Nevada facilities, resulting in an "Excellent" rating for the brand’s food safety practices. Prior to Monin, Johanna spent five years at Wild Flavors (now Archer-Daniels-Midland Company) in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), including the Florida IFT Division, as well as the Bay Area Manufacturers Association (BAMA). Johanna graduated from Louisiana State University and later attended Michigan State University to obtain her certification in Food Law and Regulations.

Carolyn Ross, Ph.D., M.Sc. is a Professor in the School of Food Science at Washington State University (WSU), Affiliate Professor in the WSU School of Medicine, and Director of the WSU Sensory Science Center. Since starting at WSU in 2004, Dr. Ross has established her lab and the WSU Sensory Science Center as a hub for graduate student training in the areas of sensory science and analytical chemistry. Specifically, the overall objectives of Dr. Ross's research and graduate education program are to understand the theoretical basis underpinning the sensory perception of foods and wines and correlate these attributes with quantifiable characteristics. Dr. Ross has also expanded her research to explore food texture perception in children. She has thrice been awarded the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT's) Tanner Award for most‐cited article in the Journal of Food Science (in the Sensory and Food Quality section). Dr. Ross was also awarded the WSU Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction and is a Fulbright-Australia Scholar at Deakin University in Melbourne. She holds a Ph.D. in Food Science/Environmental Toxicology from Michigan State University and an M.Sc. degree in Food Science from the University of Guelph.

Lone Jespersen, Ph.D. is a published author, speaker, and the Principal and Founder of Cultivate SA, a Swiss-based organization dedicated to eradicating foodborne illness, one culture at a time. Dr. Jespersen has worked to strengthen food safety through organizational culture improvements for 20 years, since starting at Maple Leaf Foods in 2004. She chaired the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) technical working group "A Culture of Food Safety," chaired the International Association of Food Protection (IAFP) professional development group "Food Safety Culture," and was the technical author on the BSI PAS320 Practical Guide to Food Safety Culture. Dr. Jespersen holds a Ph.D. in Culture Enabled Food Safety from the University of Guelph in Canada and a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Syd Dansk University in Denmark. She is also a visiting Professor at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. Dr. Jespersen serves as Chair of the IFPTI Board and as Director on the STOP Foodborne Illness Board. She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Food Safety Magazine and a member of the Educational Advisory Board of the Food Safety Summit.

Takashi Nakamura, Ph.D. has served as Vice President of Food Safety for Fresh Del Monte since 2019. Previously, he worked in various senior research and development roles at Bumble Bee Foods and Bacardi, was the Vice President of Global Product Formulation and Worldwide Research and Development/Scientific Affairs at Herbalife, and was the Category Technical Leader for Portable Wholesome Snacking and Frozen Breakfast at Kellogg's. Dr. Nakamura serves on the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) Technical Committee and the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) Food Safety Committee, and has represented Fresh Del Monte with the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA). He is an active member of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP). He received a Ph.D. in Engineering from Purdue University and an M.B.A. degree from the University of North Florida. 

José Emilio Esteban, D.V.M. was sworn in as the U.S. Under Secretary for Food Safety on January 4, 2023. In this role, he leads the Office of Food Safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), overseeing the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which has regulatory oversight for ensuring that meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, and properly labeled.

Sandra Eskin, J.D. was appointed U.S. Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety on March 24, 2021. In this role, she leads the Office of Food Safety at USDA, overseeing FSIS.

Prior to joining USDA, Mrs. Eskin was the Project Director for Food Safety at The Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington, D.C., a position she held since November 2009. She also served from 2008–2009 as the Deputy Director of the Produce Safety Project, a Pew-funded initiative at Georgetown University.