Check out this program listing to explore all the concurrent sessions and start planning your conference experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn and lead in food safety education! More session information coming soon.
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2025 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference Program
Thursday, March 13
Speakers:
- Tony Flood, Director, Food Safety Communications, International Food Information Council
- Steven Mandernach, Executive Director, Association of Food and Drug Officials
- Kevin Sheehan, Senior Director Processor Engagement, National Pork Board
Moderator:
- Brian Ronholm, Director of Food Policy, Consumer Reports
Posters:
Interpretations of Ready-to-Eat Foods: Qualitative Comparison, Consumers versus Produce Growers
Consumers’ handling practices of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods may be influenced by how they perceive them. To explore and document their perspectives, interviews and focus groups were used to collect information from consumers and produce growers respectively on their interpretations of RTE foods.
Presenters: Elma Kontor-Manu, Suyapa Fabiola Rojas-Oropel, Yaohua Feng
Leadership Roles in Food Safety
This presentation discusses leadership role to evaluate current food safety programs with an objective to elevate strong food safety culture.
Presenters: Srinivasaraoh Bandla
Improving Food Safety: Carvacrol Nanoemulsion for Salmonella Biofilm Control
This study explores the use of carvacrol nanoemulsion (CRNE) as a natural sanitizer against Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) biofilms on plastic surfaces. CRNE significantly reduced SE biofilms, with up to 4.5 log CFU/ml reduction observed. CRNE also downregulated SE genes responsible for biofilm development, indicating potential for improving food safety practices.
Presenters: Trushenkumar Shah
Leftover Food Handling Practices Among Minority Populations
This study examines leftover food handling practices among PVAMU students. Most students bring home and store leftovers, but some have unsafe habits like leaving food out at room temperature. Understanding these practices can help improve food safety education and reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses in underserved communities.
Presenters: Mahta Moussavi
Minimizing the Impact of Home Food Waste
A Materials Management Environmental Analyst and Extension Educators will present on the environmental, social, and economic impacts of food waste and provide education on how to reduce home food waste. Information and tools will be distributed on how consumers can safely manage food waste in the most sustainable ways possible.
Presenters: Presenters: Bridget Morrisroe, Catherine Milner
Communicating Food Safety to Consumers on Social Media: Instagram Lessons
Social media is a powerful and cost-effective tool for disseminating food safety information to broad audiences. This study uses Instagram as a case study to explore how different post types and formats can engage consumers with food safety content.
Presenters: Han Chen, Anastasia Elizabeth Crane
Teens Serving Food Safely Program Makes a Difference
“Teens Serving Food Safely” is a statewide classroom education effort of high school teachers and Extension. Knowledge scores have significantly increased and behavior has improved among 11,972 participants. Teens are washing their hands more often (83%), sharing their knowledge (50%), and handling food more safely for the public (41%).
Presenters: Julie Garden-Robinson
10:30 am - 11:30 pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
Moving Closer to Zero Exposure to Heavy Metals in Foods
Learn about the methodology and findings from formative research conducted to inform FDA’s upcoming “Closer to Zero” Education and Outreach Initiative, which aims to reduce exposure to heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury) to as low as possible in foods commonly eaten by babies and young children.
Speakers: Felisha Wu, Ewa Carlton
Improving Raw Chicken Washing Communication Using Mixed Methods Research
Explore how CDC and USDA-FSIS employed mixed-methods research to investigate raw chicken washing behaviors in the U.S. and determine which theory-based communication messaging about raw poultry washing was preferred by priority audiences. Health equity and harm reduction perspectives are also incorporated.
Speakers: Deanna Amarosa, Kelsey Schwarz, Aaron Lavallee
Food Safety Advice from Chatbots: how Accurate and Reliable Is It?
Based on 20 food safety questions from consumers extracted from the Risky or Not podcast, hosted by the food safety experts Dr. Ben Chapman and Dr. Don Schaffner, the validity and reliability of four popular chatbots were tested.
Speakers: Lorena Correia, Yaohua Feng
Safer Together: The Importance of Diverse Outreach Strategies in a Multicultural World
Understanding that culturally competent communications materials are key to reaching diverse audiences. In this session, learn how USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) cultivated food safety messaging towards Hispanic, Tribal, and religious minority audiences with the help of accessible materials and key partners.
Speakers: Meredith Carothers
Get the Dish!: Extending Extension’s Educational Reach
Get the Dish! increases Extension’s ability to reach and educate new and returning clientele with home food preparation topics encompassing health, nutrition, and food safety using valid, research-based content.
Speakers: Surine Greenway, Amy Robertson, Joey Peutz
NCFSEN Multistate Food Safety Network in Action for 9 Years
Learn the process of creating a multi-state food safety network. An overview of the steps, including getting started, organizing and communicating, will be provided. Along with impacts, the presentation will showcase the “why” and “how” of forming a regional group, which includes growing membership, establishing ongoing leadership, and sustaining participation.
Speakers: Julie Garden-Robinson, Cindy Brison, Karen Blakeslee
Reshaping Food Safety Education: Engaging GMP Training Tools for Small Operations
This session demos iTIPS Food Safety, an online educational experience tailored for small processors training on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Presenters will discuss the research-based development and evaluation of iTIPS and guide participants in actively engaging with the tool. Participants will gain understanding of its content and innovative delivery method.
Speakers: Matheus Cezarotto
Manipulating FATTOM: Strategy framework impacting food safety, security, waste prevention
Interactive demonstrations of safe food handling, preservation and waste prevention strategies and concepts utilizing FATTOM as a framework for delivery that will help increase confidence and likelihood of implementation with their respective stakeholder base. Participants will receive a variety of resources that can be modified based on audience and resources.
Speakers: Chase McIntosh Baillie
Combatting Concern and Confusion: Understanding and Deciphering Recall Information
A food recall can cause confusion and concern among consumers, especially when they aren’t familiar with how to decipher a recall press release. In this session, USDA’s Food and Inspection Service will help you understand recalls, and show you how to communicate about recalls in plain language.
Speakers: Meredith Carothers
11:30 am - 12:30 pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
Making Sense of Cottage Food Legislation
Cottage food laws may be confusing for the producer, especially when they change frequently. Extension can play a role by collaborating with the state Department of Ag and the producer to make the transition to the new law easier to understand.
Speakers: Cindy Brison
From Texas Kitchens to Market: Navigating Texas Regulations for Homemade Products
Cottage food production operations (CFPO) laws passed by states differ significantly with respect to allowable foods, revenue, permits, and safe food handling requirements. This session will guide attendees through the complexities of cottage food safety guidelines and present valuable insights from pre- and post-survey data collected.
Speakers: Julie Ommert Prouse, Rebecca Dittmar
Freeze Drying 101: Preparing Food Safety Professionals to Educate Clientele
Explore the increasing popularity of home freeze drying. This session will equip educators to expertly guide clientele through the freeze drying process, enhancing food preservation skills for optimal results.
Speakers: Amy Robertson, Margine Bawden, Cindy Pearson
Successful Volunteer Food Preservation Training on a Shoestring Budget
The University of California Master Food Preserver Program created a hybrid online/in-person new volunteer training program delivered statewide that can be replicated at little to no cost. This session demonstrates the tools used to organize and deliver the training, discusses the challenges and successes, and possibilities for collaboration.
Speakers: Susan Mosbacher
Summer School for Consumer Food Safety Education: Evaluation of a train-the-trainer Food Safety Educational Program
The Summer School for Consumer Food Safety Education is an annual program designed for educators and extension volunteers by offering expert-led virtual sessions on key food safety topics. The program addresses current consumer food safety practices and provides participants with research information and tools that can equip them to better educate these consumers.
Speakers: Suyapa F. Rojas-Oropel, Elma Kontor-Manu
Development of a Live Online Food Safety Manager Prep Course
Attendees will learn about the development process of a new curriculum: “Food Safety Manager Prep Course.” This presentation will include a demonstration of the software used to deliver the program, a sample of the educational materials provided to participants, and a snapshot of how the class is presented.
Speakers: Nicole McGeehan, Andy Hirneisen
Food Safety Style Guide & Checklist for Acidic Home Canned Recipes
Learn how to use the Content Creator’s Food Safety Style Guide for Acidic Home Canned Recipes to revise current recipes to provide best practice guidelines to promote consistency and improved readability amongst recipes created for home canners.
Speakers: Kathy Savoie
What does “Inclusive Design” Mean to Food Safety Education?
Inclusive design includes considerations around accessibility by users with diverse audio, visual, motor and cognitive needs, as well as representation in character and graphic design, media choice and cultural background. Join this interactive workshop by using a framework to design learning experiences which are more inclusive and representative.
Speakers: Barbara Chamberlin, Matheus Cezarotto, Pamela Martinez
Influencing: What Do You Mean There’s Not an Unlimited Budget??
Social media continues to dominate the minds of consumers – trends, educational content, niche topics and more. Food safety education has a place, so let’s get content out there! Come learn how to produce and publish successful social media content in a world where budgets and resources are limited.
Speakers: Meredith Carothers
1:45 pm - 2:45 pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
A Clearer Picture: Insights from a 2024 Needs Assessment of Food Safety Educators
Explore key findings from the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s 2024 survey of over 500 health and food safety educators. This session highlights educator demographics, preferred tools, underserved audiences, and top challenges in consumer food safety education. Gain actionable insights for shaping the future of consumer food safety education.
Speakers: Katie Weston
Evaluating the Impact of Documentary Poisoned as an Educational Tool
Documentaries constitute an accessible and affordable tool for communicating food safety information. This study uses Poisoned as a case study to examine its impact on young adults’ food safety awareness, their trust in food supply chain stakeholders, and any potential change in their behavior after watching the documentary.
Speakers: Fanny Gozzi, Yaohua Feng
Learning to Love Labels (and the Food Safety Instructions on Them!
Developing a label that consumers find interesting enough to follow food safety instructions has proven to be challenging. Come learn about USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service’s new research about adding food safety instructions to an updated label, and what consumers thought about it.
Speakers: Meredith Carothers
Enhancing Food Safety for Families: Implementing Safe Plates PIEC Program
The Safe Plates Pregnancy, Infancy and Early Childhood (PIEC) program at NC State University was designed to address the unique food safety needs of pregnant individuals, infants and young children. Attendees will learn about the evidence-based approaches used to promote behavior change and improve food safety practices.
Speakers: Candice Christian
The Food Safety Survey for Older Adults: A Research Tool to Better Understand the Needs of Your Community
This session will make participants aware of the availability of a validated, peer-reviewed Food Safety Survey for Older Adults and how to use the survey for their own research.
Speakers: Jennifer Quinlan
Cooking Capable: Accessible, Adaptable and Inclusive Food Education Programs
Using Cooking Capable as a case study, participants will be able to Identify benefits, challenges, solutions and strategies for planning, promoting, implementing and evaluating programs that are accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities and different functional needs.
Speakers: Chase McIntosh Baillie
Food Safety & Improved Nutrition- Capture the Flavor- Healthy Cooking with Culinary Herbs and Spices
The session addresses the topic of food safety and the relevance of culinary herbs and spices in cooking. This session demonstrates how culinary herbs and spices can be effective tools in promoting food safety and improving the nutritional profile of our meals. It will also promote practical strategies and knowledge on how to teach communities about integrating these practices into their daily lives, emphasizing safe food handling, hand hygiene, improved health, and nutrition.
Speakers: Jennifer Dixon Cravens, Shauna Henley
Little Chefs: Teaching Safe Food Handling to Young Children
This session will describe a hands-on activity that was developed and conducted with children under 10 yrs of age for the 4-H Clover Kids Extension program. Children used GloGerm™ lotion to learn about the importance of proper handwashing and how germs spread through contaminated hands. Participants will learn how simple food preparation hands-on activities can be used to teach young children about the importance of handwashing and safe food handling.
Speakers: Anirudh Naig
Conversation with CDC: A forum for dialogue and sharing insights with CDC on critical food safety challenges
Join this interactive session with CDC experts to discuss key food safety challenges and share insights.
Speakers: CDC
Speaker:
- Charles Leftwich, Co-Chair and VP of Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Sysco Corporation
Join your fellow conference attendees for networking and learning from your poster presentation colleagues!
Posters:
Interpretations of Ready-to-Eat Foods: Qualitative Comparison, Consumers versus Produce Growers
Consumers’ handling practices of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods may be influenced by how they perceive them. To explore and document their perspectives, interviews and focus groups were used to collect information from consumers and produce growers respectively on their interpretations of RTE foods.
Presenters: Elma Kontor-Manu, Suyapa Fabiola Rojas-Oropel, Yaohua Feng
Leadership Roles in Food Safety
This presentation discusses leadership role to evaluate current food safety programs with an objective to elevate strong food safety culture.
Presenters: Srinivasaraoh Bandla
Improving Food Safety: Carvacrol Nanoemulsion for Salmonella Biofilm Control
This study explores the use of carvacrol nanoemulsion (CRNE) as a natural sanitizer against Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) biofilms on plastic surfaces. CRNE significantly reduced SE biofilms, with up to 4.5 log CFU/ml reduction observed. CRNE also downregulated SE genes responsible for biofilm development, indicating potential for improving food safety practices.
Presenters: Trushenkumar Shah
Leftover Food Handling Practices Among Minority Populations
This study examines leftover food handling practices among PVAMU students. Most students bring home and store leftovers, but some have unsafe habits like leaving food out at room temperature. Understanding these practices can help improve food safety education and reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses in underserved communities.
Presenters: Mahta Moussavi
Minimizing the Impact of Home Food Waste
A Materials Management Environmental Analyst and Extension Educators will present on the environmental, social, and economic impacts of food waste and provide education on how to reduce home food waste. Information and tools will be distributed on how consumers can safely manage food waste in the most sustainable ways possible.
Presenters: Presenters: Bridget Morrisroe, Catherine Milner
Communicating Food Safety to Consumers on Social Media: Instagram Lessons
Social media is a powerful and cost-effective tool for disseminating food safety information to broad audiences. This study uses Instagram as a case study to explore how different post types and formats can engage consumers with food safety content.
Presenters: Han Chen, Anastasia Elizabeth Crane
Teens Serving Food Safely Program Makes a Difference
“Teens Serving Food Safely” is a statewide classroom education effort of high school teachers and Extension. Knowledge scores have significantly increased and behavior has improved among 11,972 participants. Teens are washing their hands more often (83%), sharing their knowledge (50%), and handling food more safely for the public (41%).
Presenters: Julie Garden-Robinson
Friday, March 14
Moderator:
- Steven Mandernach, Executive Director, Association of Food and Drug Officials
Speakers:
- Megin Nichols, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, CDC
- Jim Jones, Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, Food and Drug Administration
Posters:
Interpretations of Ready-to-Eat Foods: Qualitative Comparison, Consumers versus Produce Growers
Consumers’ handling practices of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods may be influenced by how they perceive them. To explore and document their perspectives, interviews and focus groups were used to collect information from consumers and produce growers respectively on their interpretations of RTE foods.
Presenters: Elma Kontor-Manu, Suyapa Fabiola Rojas-Oropel, Yaohua Feng
Leadership Roles in Food Safety
This presentation discusses leadership role to evaluate current food safety programs with an objective to elevate strong food safety culture.
Presenters: Srinivasaraoh Bandla
Improving Food Safety: Carvacrol Nanoemulsion for Salmonella Biofilm Control
This study explores the use of carvacrol nanoemulsion (CRNE) as a natural sanitizer against Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) biofilms on plastic surfaces. CRNE significantly reduced SE biofilms, with up to 4.5 log CFU/ml reduction observed. CRNE also downregulated SE genes responsible for biofilm development, indicating potential for improving food safety practices.
Presenters: Trushenkumar Shah
Leftover Food Handling Practices Among Minority Populations
This study examines leftover food handling practices among PVAMU students. Most students bring home and store leftovers, but some have unsafe habits like leaving food out at room temperature. Understanding these practices can help improve food safety education and reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses in underserved communities.
Presenters: Mahta Moussavi
Minimizing the Impact of Home Food Waste
A Materials Management Environmental Analyst and Extension Educators will present on the environmental, social, and economic impacts of food waste and provide education on how to reduce home food waste. Information and tools will be distributed on how consumers can safely manage food waste in the most sustainable ways possible.
Presenters: Presenters: Bridget Morrisroe, Catherine Milner
Communicating Food Safety to Consumers on Social Media: Instagram Lessons
Social media is a powerful and cost-effective tool for disseminating food safety information to broad audiences. This study uses Instagram as a case study to explore how different post types and formats can engage consumers with food safety content.
Presenters: Han Chen, Anastasia Elizabeth Crane
Teens Serving Food Safely Program Makes a Difference
“Teens Serving Food Safely” is a statewide classroom education effort of high school teachers and Extension. Knowledge scores have significantly increased and behavior has improved among 11,972 participants. Teens are washing their hands more often (83%), sharing their knowledge (50%), and handling food more safely for the public (41%).
Presenters: Julie Garden-Robinson
10:30 am - 11:30 pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
It’s Not That Serious – Or Is It? Analyzing Consumer Risk Perceptions
How consumers perceive risk directly impacts the communications materials presented to them. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will present research on consumers’ perceived severity, likelihood, and level of concern related to contracting foodborne illness, as well as preferences for receiving information, potential recall fatigue and more.
Speakers: Meredith Carothers
Consumer Food Handling Behavior: Data from the 2019 FDA Food Safety and Nutrition Survey (FSANS)
For this presentation, the speaker will report on consumer food-handling behaviors (based on national goals from Healthy People 2023), using self-reported data from a nationally representative survey. The speaker will also discuss significant factors that affect these food-handling behaviors. These findings have important implications for food safety education.
Speakers: Fanfan Wu
Words That Work: Insights into Consumer Understanding of Food Safety Terms
Learn key findings from a survey conducted to explore public understanding of common food safety terms, including perishable, leftovers, and ready-to-eat. This session shares insights on consumer perceptions and lessons learned from a collaborative communications working group.
Speakers: Katie Weston
Don’t Cross Me! Engaging 7th Graders in Food Safety
Food Safety plays a role in our food supply from farm-to-fork. Maryland Extension hosts a 2-day Agriculture Awareness event, where all 7th graders in the public school system visit to learn about agriculture. Here, Extension Agents can excite the next generation of the importance of food safety.
Speakers: Shauna Henley, Beverly Jackey
The Food Safety Menu
Serving news to promote food safety education. The menu includes food safety topics that impact the food industry, but in a way that’s easy to understand and share.
Speakers: Jamiea Ratcliff
Developing a food safety training for campus food shelves
This session will provide an overview of the approach used to develop a food safety training program specifically for campus food shelves, demonstration of the final product, and review of current behavior change outcomes and evaluation results.
Speakers: Amy Johnston
Game-based learning in food safety: new research-based games for variety of audiences*
Games provide affordances for learners, which help them explore content and practice food safety. This session shares two new games in food safety, and shares the process behind the design of the learning experiences, one focusing on farmers’ market vendors and another for youth who are learning how to cook. Both game experiences use interactivity to teach best practices in food safety, considering the audience’s learning needs. Presenters will guide participants in the instructional design process and research used for the games development.
Speakers: Matheus Cezarotto, Barbara Chamberlin, Kristen Gibson
*40-minute session
11:30 am - 12:30 pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
Preliminary Results to Validate a Seafood Recipe for Home Canning
As food safety educators we teach the public about the importance of relying on research-based recipes for home food preservation. This session will provide a background on the research conducted to validate a novel seafood stock recipe for home canners.
Speakers: Kathy Savoie, Shauna Henley, Carla Luisa Schwan
Examining Consumer Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Food Irradiation
This session explores consumer knowledge, attitudes, and practices of food irradiation to inform future communications, outreach, and education. This session will present and discuss the implications of three surveys fielded from August-October 2022.
Speakers: Michael Ablan
Public health personnel, Food safety researchers, and pork consumers
Four decades of Pork Quality Assurance® Plus showcases a commitment to food safety, public health, and sustainability. With over 71,000 certified members, it integrates ethical principles and evidence-based practices, supporting responsible pork production and providing valuable resources for educators to advance food safety and hygiene standards.
Speakers: Heather Fowler
In Charge: Creating Curricula for Food Service
Discover how Ohio State University Extension educators responded to a programmatic gap when the Ohio Department of Health changed requirements for Person-in-Charge food service training requirements. This program will empower educators with best practices to create effective campaigns and curricula for food service and public health in their communities.
Speakers: Emily Marrison, Kate Shumaker, Christine Kendle
Using the Show, Do, Apply Model in Hybrid Sanitation Programming
We used the show, do, and apply model to provide the audience with a framework of in-person sanitation training methods. Results imply that hands-on sanitation training programs developed in the show, do, and apply model can be a tool for small practitioners to develop preparedness in sanitation skills.
Speakers: Christina Allingham
Keeping the Drama Out of the Kitchen: A National Creative Campaign
Dual caregivers have the responsibility of caring for generations above and below them. With limited time and high stress scenarios, resonating with food safety messages can be challenging. USDA FSIS developed a national creative campaign called Kitchen Drama, and seeing it will leave you wanting to know what happened next.
Speakers: Meredith Carothers
Designing a Virtual Food Safety Series
A multidisciplinary team of educators collaborates to offer free virtual workshops for home food consumers. Using diverse strategies and technology platforms, they plan, market, and execute workshops. This presentation will detail the journey and successful lessons learned.
Speakers: Surine Greenway, Amy Robertson
Finding Play with Youth and Adults: An Unintended Audiences for a Farmworker Training Campaign
Small-very small farms covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule must include worker training around health and hygiene and any specific duties unique to the job. A farm-focused campaign on worker training called the Produce TRAINer found an unintentional audience for outreach and education among middle schooler and school-garden teachers.
Speakers: Shauna Henley, Pamela Martinez
Speakers:
- Marko Gospojevic, Director, Sr. Manager, Product and Supply Chain Risk, Amazon World Wide Food Safety
Join your fellow conference attendees for networking, coffee and snacks.
2023 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference Program
Wednesday, March 1
Visit our Pre-Conference Workshops page for a full description of our workshops on Wednesday, March 1.
4 to 6 p.m. – Networking Event hosted by the Partnership’s BAC Fighter Ambassadors
Drop by and join your fellow conference attendees for networking and light refreshments!
Thursday, March 2
Von Nguyen, MD, MPH, Clinical Lead for Population Health at Google, shares how the second largest search engine addresses health communications on its platform and offers best practices and lessons learned.
Speaker: Von Nguyen, MD, MPH, Clinical Lead for Population Health at Google
Health equity, risk communication, and program evaluation are vital components of successful food safety education programs. Join experts Dr. Cynthia Baur, Dr. Ellen Evans, and Dr. Devlon Jackson as they share their expertise on how to incorporate these essential practices into your own programming. Time will be allocated for attendee Q&A.
Speakers: Dr. Devlon Jackson, Assistant Research Professor, Behavioral and Community Health University of Maryland; Dr. Cynthia Baur, Endowed Chair and Director, Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, School of Public Health, University of Maryland; and Dr. Ellen Evans, Research Fellow, Cardiff Metropolitan University
11:00am - 12:15pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
Digital Food Safety Education and Outreach: Podcasts, Extension, and the Library Institutional Repository
How we work, connect, and learn have changed. Explore best practices for content development, delivery, and analysis of food safety information/education through podcasting (195 episodes). Highlights collaboration of Extension, college communications/marketing, and university library institutional repository (Research Exchange). Participants may replicate our approach accessing materials and presentation on Research Exchange.
Speakers: B. Susie Craig, Professor, King County Extension, Washington State University
Delivering a Hybrid Food Safety Education and Training Program
In this session participants will learn how to successfully implement a hybrid food safety education and food preservation training program to reach diverse audiences. University of Idaho faculty will demonstrate how they successfully transitioned from an in-person program into a hybrid program including online education and small in-person lab settings.
Speakers: Bridget Morrisroe, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho Extension and Nikki Telford, Family and Consumer Sciences Program Coordinator, University of Idaho Extension
A Qualitative Synthesis of Virtual Food Safety Training Barriers and Motivators
A systematic search of digital food safety training was conducted and analyzed via a qualitative synthesis. Barriers, motivators, and recommendations for students, food workers, and consumers were identified. Attend to learn more about how you can adapt future digital trainings to improve their effectiveness.
Speakers: Zachary Berglund, Graduate Research Assistant, Purdue University
Technology as a Tool in a Post-COVID World
During the COVID-19 emergency, we all made changes to how we lived, worked, and tried to thrive. Some continue to help us thrive today. Please join us for a discussion of how COVID drove our department to incorporate technology for long-term improvement in quality of regulation and communication.
Speaker: Gwen Williams, Health and Licensing Officer, City of Concord and Brian Santiago, Health Inspector, City of Concord and Deputy Health Officer, Town of Bedford
Pivoting Home Food Preservation Education to a Virtual Format
Discover how Penn State Extension quickly changed from face-to-face home food preservation programming to webinars because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Educators will discuss how providing virtual classes in 2020, and 2021 has changed the program delivery process and expanded the reach of research-based home food preservation information.
Speakers: Andy Hirneisen, Nicole McGeehan, Stacy Reed, and Mandel Smith, Food Safety Educators, Penn State University Extension
Grow Your Campaign’s Reach with Tech-Savvy Partners
Food safety educators and communicators often work with limited budgets and small staffs, so how can we achieve large-scale distribution for our important messages? In this session we’ll hear about how FSIS collaborated with a tech-savvy partner to achieve national-scale reach and mutually-beneficial results.
Speaker: Jason Berry, Deputy Director, USDA FSIS
Evaluation of a Community-based Canning Course from 2016-2019
Home and farm-based canning is an important component of many traditional family recipes. Improper preservation is a contributor to foodborne illness if proper techniques are not used during preparation. Surveys were completed by 238 participants in the course over a four-year period (2016 to 2019). Food preservation and canning programs increased participant confidence.
Speaker: Dr. Shauna Henley, Family and Consumer Science Educator, University of Maryland Extension
Nebraska Extension: Home Food Preservation Teaching Series
Social media and outdated or novel methods have exponentially increased the need for safe food preservation information. Nebraska’s food preservation curriculum for adults and youth, guides educators with step-by-step photo-filled lesson plans. Educators will find the material a time saver with activities and handouts ready to use.
Speakers: Nancy Urbanec, Extension Associate; Brenda Aufdenkamp, Extension Educator; and Carol Larvick, Emeritus Extension Educator, University of Nebraska Extension
Working Together To Reduce Food Waste: Consumer Food Waste Reduction Extension Resources
We will highlight a fact sheet, website, and other resources developed for consumers by Kansas State University and University of Missouri Extension on reducing food waste. We provide extensive links to consumer resources on safe food storage, understanding food product dating, safely donating to food pantries, and home food preservation.
Speakers: Karen Blakeslee, Kansas State University
In this session, you’ll learn how health and food safety educators can decide what social channels to communicate on and techniques for breaking through and clearing up misinformation as it relates to food safety. The learning objectives are:
- Inspire health and food safety educators to get started on social media and decide what social media strategy makes sense for them in order to effectively reach their audience online.
- Discover opportunities for health and food safety educators to engage with consumers online.
- Gain creative solutions for breaking through a crowded digital space and clearing up food safety misinformation online
Speaker: Erin Seidl, Social Media Influencer “The Food Science Babe”
1:30pm - 2:45pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
Disparities in Food Security and Food Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Maryland
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted everyone but disproportionately affected racial/ethnic minorities. To explore state-level impact, a survey was disseminated. Black respondents were more likely to report unsafe refrigeration temperatures compared to White respondents (32% vs. 15%, p < 0.001). Educators may need to modify or create new programs for their community.
Speaker: Dr. Shauna Henley, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, University of Maryland Extension
Food CoVNET: Science-Based Strategies to Reduce the Impact of COVID-19
This session will present the activities and outcomes of the Food CoVNET grant, including the review of existing and expanding literature on COVID-19 and using that information to provide ongoing, science-based technical support to the food sector and to consumers to reduce the spread of the virus through the pandemic.
Speakers: Dr. Ellen Shumaker, NC State University
When Pop Culture and Food Safety Education Comingle
Pop culture is not always related to education or utilized as a platform. The representation of food education in entertainment as a whole runs the spectrum of accurate to inaccurate. Food safety educators have the ability to harness pop culture as a learning vehicle and engage various audiences about food safety.
Speaker: Natalie Seymour, MS, Food Safety and Audit Development Manager, Ecolab Global Food Retail
Food Safety Communication – From Social Media to Graphic Novels
Social media’s evolution parallels that of food safety culture offers significant insights into changes in consumer behavior and in how consumers learn about food safety. This session will explore not only the causes behind these changes, but also modern examples of how food safety is communicated.
Speaker: Dr. Darin Detwiler, Associate Teaching Professor, Northeastern University
Food Safety Implications of Soaked Nuts and Homemade Nut-Based Dairy Alternatives
The present study aims to assess consumer perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of tree nuts and nut-based products via an online survey. This information will be applied to consumer food safety education resources to reduce foodborne illnesses associated the preparation of nut-based products at home.
Speakers: Maeve Swinehart, Masters Student, Purdue University
Understanding Food Handlers’ Perceptions and Handling Practices of Dried Wood Ear Mushrooms Through Content Analysis and Interview
In 2020, dried wood ear mushrooms, a common ingredient in Asian cuisine, were associated with a foodborne outbreak of Salmonella Stanley. In response to the outbreak, a content analysis and a series of interviews were performed to understand food handlers’ perceptions and handling practices of dried wood ear mushrooms.
Speaker: Han Chen, Doctoral Research Assistant, Purdue University
“Crying over spilled milk”: hygiene perceptions and practices of mothers when expressing and storing breastmilk for infants.
Many reasons exist why mothers are unable to breastfeed directly and choose to express breastmilk; however, when providing expressed breastmilk, there are additional hygiene and storage practices. This study explores hygiene perceptions and practices when expressing, storing and providing expressed breastmilk to infants.
Speaker: Dr. Ellen Evans, ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, Cardiff Metropolitan University
How Food Service Operators Can Improve Food Safety Through Timely and High Quality Public Health Data
There are thousands of health departments in the US, many of which post inspection data available online. We will discuss best practices that agencies should consider when publishing data online and provide use cases for how food service businesses can leverage this data to drive food safety improvements.
Speakers: Arash Nasibi, CEO, Hazel Analytics and Dr. Al Baroudi, Vice President, QA & Food Safety, The Cheesecake Factory
Recent Research on Food Labels: An Important Source of Food Safety Information
Recent research explored consumers’ use and understanding of the mandatory Safe Handling Instructions label and voluntary Manufacturer Cooking Instructions. Product labeling information is a valuable source of food safety information at the point of food preparation. Food safety educators may want to teach consumers to look for and read these labels.
Speaker: Sheryl Cates, Senior Research Policy Analyst, RTI International
The global climate is changing rapidly due to human activities, with average temperatures increasing by about 1.8°F (1°C) over the last 100+ years. The effects of a warming climate are wide-ranging and pervasive, with more frequent and intense extreme weather events such as heavy rainfall, heat waves, drought, and wildfires contributing to observed impacts on ecosystems, people, and infrastructure. Climate change will affect the food supply in numerous ways, resulting in changes to food safety risks. This presentation will review the various anticipated and already observed impacts of climate change on food safety and will focus specifically on the implications of these impacts for consumer food safety education. Specifically, the presentation will review eight key pathways through which climate change may affect food safety and how these risks could result in changes to consumer food safety risks. The session will conclude with a discussion of how climate change impacts on food safety can be mitigated through various adaptation strategies, including key tips and suggestions for enhancing and strengthening consumer food safety within this context.
Speakers: Dr. Ian Young, Associate Professor, School of Occupational and Public Health, Toronto Metropolitan University; Dr. Darin Detwiler, Associate Teaching Professor, Northeastern University
Join your fellow conference attendees for networking and learning from your poster presentation colleagues!
Friday, March 3
Leaders from Federal agencies discuss the role health & food safety educators can play in helping to advance National Food Safety Education goals. This session will combine live comments and a Q&A session.
Speakers: Dr. Robert Tauxe, Director, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Conrad Choiniere, Director, Office of Analytics and Outreach, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Food and Drug Administration; Dr. José Emilio Esteban, Under Secretary for Food Safety, Office of Food Safety, USDA
9:45am - 11:00am - Concurrent Track Sessions:
Get Creative: How to Make Compelling Graphics for Consumer Food Safety Education
Creating visually compelling content to disseminate food safety social media messages can be challenging. The presentation will discuss research used to create graphics that increase interactions with social media audiences, and include a demonstration of a free, easy online graphics tool that anyone can use.
Speakers: Kelsey Schwarz, Health Communications Specialist, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, CDC and Sara Bresee, Health Communications Specialist, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, CDC
Choosing the Right Media for the Message
Join this panel for a rich discussion of how to choose and design for different types of media (game, interactive, animation, video, virtual reality or app), and how they best align with specific intended learning outcomes in audiences. Review sample projects, and the ways in which research informed their design.
Speakers: Dr. Barbara Chamberlin, NMSU Learning Games Lab; Dr. Kristen Gibson, University of Arkansas, Department of Food Science; Dr. Jennifer J. Quinlan, Dept. of Nutrition Sciences, Drexel University; Pamela N. Martinez, EdD, NMSU Learning Games Lab; and Dr. Matheus Cezarotto, NMSU Learning Games Lab
Immersive Food Safety Training: Applying Lessons Learned to Develop Engaging Consumer Food Safety Education Efforts
Food safety educators can meet the needs of a targeted audience by creating innovative, engaging, and accessible tools. Tools that are used in food safety education programs for one audience, such farmers and farmers market managers, can be adapted for use with other audiences, such as consumers.
Speaker: H. Lester Schonberger, Senior Research Associate, Virginia Tech
Focus Groups Exploring U.S. Adults’ Knowledge and Attitudes of Irradiation as a Food Safety Intervention
Food irradiation is a technology that treats food with ionizing radiation to improve safety and extend the shelf life by eliminating microorganisms and insects. We conducted seven focus group discussions to assess consumer knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of food irradiation and identify barriers and facilitators to purchasing irradiated foods.
Speaker: Michael Ablan, Health Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Marketing and Outcomes: A Method for Determining Effective Food Safety Outreach
No matter what your organization’s outreach size or budget, it may produce an effective consumer food safety digital outreach campaign by leveraging marketing best practices and systems thinking.
Speakers: Julie V. Wood, Research and Teaching Specialist, FL Department of Agriculture; Joseph Smith III, Government Operations Consultant, FL Department of Agriculture and Hakeem Holmes, Government Operations Consultant, FL Department of Agriculture
Preparing Food Safety Resources for the Future Consumer
The Food and Tech Advisory Council was a cross-sector collaboration between federal agencies, industry, academia, and consumer groups to serve as guidance for the Partnership for Food Safety Education and its network of partners and educators in developing a plan of action to support future consumer food safety education needs.
Speakers: Mari Schroeder, Graduate Research Assistant, University of Florida; Britanny Saunier, Executive Director, Partnership for Food Safety Education; Katie Weston, Program Manager, Partnership for Food Safety Education
Experiential Learning Builds Future Food & Nutrition Professionals’ Awareness of Food Waste
Traditional approaches to food and nutrition education focus on the food that is eaten. It is also important to consider what we do not eat. Discover food waste reduction experiential learning activities for community nutrition interns and the impact on future food and nutrition professionals.
Speaker: Kathy Savoie, Extension Professor, University of Maine Extension
Standard Operating Procedures to Reduce Food Waste in Prepared Foods in North Carolina
This session will present a summary of the Standard Operating Procedures developed to provide a consistent, evidence-based set of guidelines in an effort to reduce food waste in the food recovery landscape.
Speakers: Ellen Shumaker, Extension Associate, NC State University
11:15am - 12:30pm - Concurrent Track Sessions:
Ready or Not? Science and human behavior can take your food safety messaging to the next level!
Join the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in exploring the science behind certain consumer behaviors in the kitchen, adherence to manufacturer cooking instructions, and the perceived risk associated with foodborne illnesses versus other safety hazards.
Speaker: Aaron Lavallee, Deputy Assistant Administrator, USDA FSIS
North Central Food Safety Extension Network Reaches Thousands through Collaborative Efforts
This session provides information on the North Central Food Safety Extension Network’s efforts to deliver consumer food safety education through a bimonthly home food preservation newsletter, consumer food safety webinars, food entrepreneur webinars, and more. We will provide examples of working together to provide effective, evidence-based food safety information.
Speakers: Julie Garden-Robinson, Professor and Extension Specialist, North Dakota State University
Use of the Iterative Process to Develop Effective Food Safety Education Materials
This session will discuss the iterative process and how it can be used to maximize efficacy of education materials prior to their completion. Participants will learn how to identify key stakeholders and end users and how their input in development of materials can result in more thoughtful and effective materials.
Speakers: Dr. Jennifer Quinlan, Professor, Nutrition Sciences, Drexel University; Dr. Barbara Chamberlin, Professor, Innovative Media Research and Extension and Director, Learning Games Lab, New Mexico State University; Pamela Martinez, Assistant Professor & Extension Learning Technology Specialist, New Mexico State University; and Britanny Saunier, Executive Director, Partnership for Food Safety Education
Preliminary results of an after school cooking club among low-income middle school youth
Extension delivered an after-school cooking club to urban middle schoolers during the 2021-2022 school year using the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Sensory + Organization and Planning Toolkit; to provide inspiration for structuring cooking club activities, in addition to utilizing the social cognitive theory. Educators successfully reached a new generation.
Speakers: Amy Callahan, Senior Agent Associate, University of Maryland Extension, SNAP-Ed Baltimore Project
Science-based Social Media as a Risk Communication Tool
This interactive workshop focuses on a theory-based approach to help science communicators tailor and refine their science-based communication strategies as well as identify ways to effectively expand their reach.
Speakers: Mary Yavelak, Extension Associate, NC State University; Candice Christian, Extension Associate, NC State University and Ellen Shumaker, Extension Associate, NC State University
Using mixed-method data to create tailored consumer food safety education content
There is a dearth of consumer food safety education research to create tailored messages for specific demographics. This presentation will show the formative data CDC used to create communication products to disseminate messages. Attendees will also learn about what products have been created to reach people at higher risk.
Speakers: Sara Bresee, Health Communications Specialist, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, CDC and Kelsey Schwarz, Health Communications Specialist, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, CDC
Menu Selection on Food Safety among College Students Majoring in Agriculture and Nutrition based on Situational Factors and Beyond: A pilot study
To understand how consumers perceive the possible risks of food choices at restaurants, a survey was developed. We used evocation protocol to mimic food choice situations in restaurants and evaluated decision-making towards safe food choice among two cohorts of college students who were more knowledgeable about food safety.
Speakers: Megan Mei Yee Low, Graduate Research Assistant, Purdue University, Keyshla M. Narváez-Dávila, Graduate Research Assistant, Purdue University and Alejandra Marcela Prado Jaramillo, Research Scholar, Purdue University
Maryland Food Ventures: Online and In-Person Workshop for Value-Added Producers
Producers use value-added food products to extend the shelf-life of their raw products and to diversify their product offerings to increase sales. The development of the Maryland Food Ventures Curriculum (MFV), and support materials were designed to be equivalently presented as an in-person and online virtual self-paced workshop.
Speakers: Neith Little, Urban Agriculture Extension Educator, University of Maryland Extension
Developing a Recall Ready Community
Experts will discuss the current recall system and share insights into how consumers perceive recalls and what motivates them to take action in a recall scenario. You’ll feel empowered to support your community with their recall questions.
Speakers: Mitzi Baum, CEO, Stop Foodborne Illness; William Hallman, Professor & Chair, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University; Reeba Roy, Consumer Safety Officer, CFSAN/FDA Office of Compliance/Recall and Product Conditioning Team; and Howard Popoola, Vice President Corporate Food Technology and Regulatory Compliance, The Kroger Company