Developing a collaborative course for agriculture and food vulnerability assessment training

One of the major public health threats confronting the food industry is a terrorist or criminal act against the nation's food system. The food chain has been identified as a critical element of the national infrastructure and a likely target for terrorism. In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report urging governments to develop "farm to fork" contingency plans to protect against the risk of terrorists using the food chain as a potentially devastating weapon. Methods to train participants to identify areas of risk and implement mitigation strategies were developed and included in the course materials. Training personnel in agriculture and food industries, as well as state and local officials, emergency personnel, health department personnel and others, is key to evaluating vulnerabilities in food and agricultural facilities and implementing strategies to deter both terrorist and criminal acts.

Funded by a $2.2 million U. S. Department of Homeland Security grant, a nine-module course was developed by faculty with expertise in food safety and agriculture. Personnel from six academic institutions and two state agriculture departments developed the course, which included case-based video exercises and extensive teaching materials. Instructors were trained and certified to deliver the course at no cost during two-day training sessions in local communities. Outcomes include a 22.5 percentage point improvement by participants on the course pre- and post-examinations. As of Feb. 1, 2008 the course was delivered in 19 states to 841 participants representing 39 states. Participants are primarily food and agriculture industry personnel, in addition to state and local government and health department personnel. This poster will describe the teaching modules and key points in developing and implementing a training course to teach agriculture and food personnel to identify vulnerabilities in their facilities so that they may develop strategies to better protect the nation's food supply.