offered online
The Food
Science Department in the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences has long been a leader in providing
training to students and food industry workers through extension workshops
and short courses. Through distance education programs, the department
is providing new ways to share its expertise with those working in the
food industry and other professionals who need information on food safety
practices and regulations.
The department now offers
an on-line
certificate program in food safety designed to serve working professionals
in food industries. The two-tiered program offers a HACCP (Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Points) Coordinator’s Certificate and Food
Safety Manager’s Certificate.
“Because we are viewed
as leaders, we want people to recognize that if you’ve had food
safety training from N.C. State University,
you’ve had the best,” said Melissa Scherpereel, coordinator
of the certificate program.
HACCP plans are required
to ensure the safe processing of poultry, meat and seafood products,
and those in the food processing industry believe that the HACCP system
will soon be required in all sectors of the food processing industry.
Training employees to implement and oversee a HACCP plan is a first
step in preparing HACCP. But sending employees away for training can
take several days, at a cost of hundreds of dollars to the company.
Last summer, the Food Science
Department started a certificate training program in food safety. The
first tier of the program, HACCP Coordinators Certificate, is designed
for plant employees who want to learn the basic principles of HACCP.
“You really could complete
this certificate and be the person who serves as a HACCP coordinator
in your plant,” Scherpereel said.
The tier one certificate
includes three courses: Introduction to HACCP, Good Manufacturing Practices
and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures. Students in this program
are required to develop a HACCP plan, usually for the industry in which
they work.
The second tier certificate
provides more in-depth training on the scientific fundamentals that
undergird HACCP. Completion of the program entitles students to a Food
Safety Manager’s Certificate. Courses for this certificate include
Sanitation, Hazard Analysis/Risk Assessment, and Food Microbiology/Microbial
Hazards.
All certificate courses
are offered completely online, and no trips to campus are required.
Students work independently and have a full semester to complete a course.
The Food Science Department
also offers an online course in Food Laws and Regulations, which is
taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. While the food
law course has attracted those in food-related programs, it also attracts
students from other disciplines who are interested in law. Of 30 students
enrolled in the course last fall, more than half were from majors other
than food science.
Scherpereel is delighted
the program has attracted students from across the country and has international
interest as well, but the program’s main focus is serving North
Carolina food industries. Tyson Foods, which has plants in North Carolina
and around the world, has entered an agreement with N.C. State to train
its workers through the program.
The food safety certification
program receives inquiries on a daily basis from potential students.
And the Food Science Department is exploring new ways of bringing its
expertise to Cooperative Extension
agents, pharmaceutical industry employees and others through courses
that carry continuing education credit.
Some people are a little
uncertain about distance education and how it works, so Scherpereel
spends time educating potential students one-on-one.
“Our goal is student
support and learning,” she said. “We want people to walk away
with increased knowledge and wanting to learn more.”
—Natalie
Hampton
