Call for applications and abstracts; Learning opportunities; Scam alert!

Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 06/26/2018 08:06 AM CDT
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Partnership and Workforce Development – Food Safety Partnership Update

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June 26, 2018

Food Innovation Team

Call for membership applications - due June 28!

Announcing the Food Innovation Team (FIT), a new subcommittee of Minnesota’s Food Safety and Defense Task Force and call for membership applications!

If you are interested in applying to become a member of the Food Innovation Team please fill out the application and return it to Natasha Hedin by June 28, 2018.

FIT aims to help entrepreneurs and regulators work together

The role of the Food Innovation Team is to learn from complex food licensing cases, untangle the issues, and use the information gathered to help food businesses obtain correct licensing in a timely manner. FIT will allow a food business to consult with regulatory, local food system, and food safety experts. FIT’s goal is to help Minnesota accommodate new and innovative food business models, while maintaining our state’s high standards for food safety.

In addition to helping individual food entrepreneurs, another goal of the Food Innovation Team is to improve the functioning of the food regulatory system as a whole. As FIT hears cases and resolves issues that are complex or unclear, that information will be captured in a database that will be available to the public. The knowledge gained in each case can then be applied to future, similar cases. Over time, regulators, food system advocates, and food entrepreneurs will strengthen their ability to deal with complex food licensing scenarios.

Partners include regulatory agencies, community groups and U of M Extension

The Food Innovation Team was developed through a collaborative process that involved the food regulatory divisions of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Department of Health; community groups including the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association and Renewing the Countryside; University of Minnesota Extension and the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture.

FIT will have eight members

The Food Innovation Team will hold six meetings per year and report its activities to the Food Safety & Defense Task Force. The eight members of the team will be appointed by the Task Force co-chairs and will consist of the following categories:

  1. MDA staff (1)
  2. MDH staff (1)
  3. MDA Delegated Agency staff (1)
  4. MDH Delegated Agency staff (1)
  5. Local food maker community (1)
  6. Local food farming community (1)
  7. Local/regional food systems expert or college/university-based (1)
  8. Food safety expert, non-agency (1)

Application and SOPs

Food Innovation Team documents have been created that include Standard Operating Procedures, an intake form for cases, a reporting form, and an application form for membership. The set of Food Innovation Team documents is available in PDF format on Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ICAGDgsO0_G0masu8LdhsLfVfaCdcPX7/view?usp=sharing

Or download the PDF at this link:

http://misadocuments.info/SOP_FIT_incl_attachments_binder.pdf

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From Consumers to Chefs: Food Safety Education Matters

The Partnership for Food Safety Education 2019 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference  will be held March 6 through 8 in Orlando, Florida.

Call for abstracts

Are you interested in presenting your programming, research or creative outreach ideas? Abstract submission is open now through August 2, 2018.

Program tracks

The conference organizers welcome submissions from university faculty and students, non-profit organizations, government agencies and for-profit companies. Please describe your compelling topic in 300 words or less. They are accepting abstracts that fall into these five program tracks:

1.         Program Tools — Refresh Your Outreach Toolbox

2.         Know the Data: Modifying Approaches to Increase Consumer Engagement

3.         Safe Food Handling in Today’s Food Landscape

4.         Show It! Hands-on Demonstrations that Engage Consumers

5.         Food Safety Education Success Stories (poster only track)

Detailed descriptions of each of the Conference Tracks are available online.

About the host

The non-profit Partnership for Food Safety Education delivers science-based behavioral health messaging and a network of resources that support consumers. PFSE is the creator and steward of the Fight BAC!® campaign and its four core messages of Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.

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NACCHO Online Sharing Session on the Conference for Food Protection

Join the conversation

Do you want to learn more about how the Retail Program Standards or Food Code are revised? Want to provide feedback on the Retail Program Standards criteria? Then join us on Tuesday, July 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon CDT for an online sharing session on the Conference for Food Protection (CFP).

Session overview

During this session, participants will hear from CFP Council and Committee members and the Food and Drug Administration on the overview of the CFP, learn about the Issues submission process, types of Issues submitted, how Issues connect with the Food Code and the Retail Program Standards, and how to become involved.

Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the Questions and Answers portion at the end of the session. This will be a chance to provide feedback on Retail Program Standard revisions, meeting Retail Program Standards, and other general questions on the CFP.

Register online: NACCHO Conference for Food Protection Sharing Session

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Instructors of Certified Food Manager Classes

MDH has an important training opportunity coming up for CFM instructors.

Food Safety Partnership Video-conference

Join us in September to hear about new Minnesota food code requirements that will go into effect on January 1, 2019. Changes to Minnesota’s food code will bring our state in closer alignment with the FDA Food Code.

Experts in Minnesota retail food regulations will highlight key changes in terminology, food handling, employee health and hygiene, and equipment and facilities. You will learn from both Food, Pools, and Lodging Services (MDH) and Food and Feed Safety (MDA) staff. Presenters will include Minnesota’s FDA standardized  Retail Food Safety Officers.

Session details

  • Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
  • Freeman Building, 625 Robert Street North, Room B107
  • MDH district offices in Bemidji, Duluth, Fergus Falls, Mankato, Marshall, Rochester and St. Cloud, as well as locations in Alexandria, Anoka, Brainerd, Hopkins, Moorhead, Stillwater and Wilmar, plus an online viewing option

Continuing education

This FSP meeting is approved for two hours of continuing education for Minnesota CFM renewal. You must pre-register to receive credit. Registration details will be available in mid-August.

Annual CFM Instructor Workshop to return in 2019

The popular train-the-trainer style workshop for instructors of certified food managers is set to return next year. In 2018, we encourage instructors to take advantage of the September 19 FSP video-conference to learn important information about Minnesota’s updated food code requirements.

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