Aim 4 - Develop a "food safety track" within existing food science undergraduate programs

Cornell continues to explore and facilitate food safety related internship and externship opportunities for undergraduate students. For example, one Food Science undergraduate student at Cornell will conduct an externship in the 2013/14 winter break at Garelick Farms.

From August 2013 - April 2013, North Carolina State University developed core competencies to support an undergraduate food safety program using a modified Delphi approach.  The purpose of this study was to identify and refine core competencies relevant to post-secondary food safety education.  Twenty-nine experts representing food safety professionals in academia, government and industry contributed to the development of specific food safety competencies defined within core domains and subdomains.  These core domain included:  (1) Food Production, Manufacturing and Retail; (2) Foodborne Hazards; (3) Public Health; (4) Legislation and Policy; and (5) Communication and Education.  This study provided a framework for the development of a vetted, standardized undergraduate food safety curriculum.  The Delphi method, with its inclusion of food safety experts, provided relevant perspectives for curriculum design, and the opportunity to participate in the education of future food safety professionals.

The Department of Food Science at Cornell University has recently added a Food Safety concentration to the already existing Basic Food Science and Operations & Management tracks in the program. A copy of the Food Safety curriculum with a list of course requirements can be found here.

Haley Oliver, Assistant Professor at Purdue University, recently developed undergraduate laboratories implementing PFGE and PCR.