WAFDO 2009 Educational Conference - Cancelled
AFDO Family,
After much thought and consideration, the WAFDO Board members have decided to cancel the 2009 WAFDO Annual Educational Conference scheduled for September 2009 in Reno, Nevada. State budgets and the economy in general have forced us to be realistic about actual attendance numbers and the very real possibility that come September many of us may be on travel restrictions.
This decision has started the conversation about how to provide training and education in distance learning formats. As travel dollars shrink, we need to discover new ways to accomplish our mission of providing training and education for all interested parties in the WAFDO region.
The Board is actively working with the AFDO office to make arrangements that will allow WAFDO to have our annual business meeting during the 2009 AFDO conference in Chicago in June. Stay tuned for more details.
At this time, the 2010 WAFDO Annual meeting is scheduled to be held in Reno, Nevada at the Silver Legacy, dates are September 19 - 22, 2010. We look forward to seeing you there!
The good news is WAFDO will be awarding two scholarships this year to students in the WAFDO Region. If ever there is a need for this, now is the time. It is extremely important that we continue to promote and encourage students to pursue education in our fields to be the shining stars of the future. Since we will not be holding a Silent Auction this year which is our primary scholarship fundraiser, we would ask that you thoughtfully consider an independent tax deductible contribution to the WAFDO Scholarship Fund if your personal resources allow.
We, as a Board are sad to have made this tough decision, but believe it is the right one. We look forward to seeing you in Chicago in June!Ellen Laymon and the rest of the WAFDO Board
2008 WAFDO/AFDO Conference Presentations can be found at the AFDO Web.
The AFDO 2009 Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois on June 6-10, 2009. Information can be found at the AFDO Web. For those that will be reimbursed by WAFDO, use the WAFDO Expense Form (Word) or in WAFDO Expense Form (PDF).
AFDO Awarded W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant to Develop International Food Protection Training Institute
The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a $2,000,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to create and develop an international food protection training institute. The training institute will be a key component of a national food protection center to be located in Battle Creek, Michigan. While the overall purpose of the training institute is to address the unmet educational needs of food protection professionals, its immediate focus will be on the urgent need for standardized, graduated, and career-spanning training of state and local food protection professionals to meet generally recognized food safety standards.
AFDO and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are committed to improving the food safety system, which has come under intense criticism recently as a result of several multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks. “Americans depend on state and local food inspectors to protect us from health hazards that cost lives, but those inspectors frequently lack adequate training to do their jobs, and our states can’t afford to develop or sustain good training programs,” said Rick Foster, Vice President of Programs for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
“In 1998, AFDO called for the creation of a nationally integrated food safety system. The development of a national food protection training institute is a major step in moving toward a more coordinated and effective system,” said Joseph Corby, Executive Director of AFDO. “These training programs will encompass all stakeholders and all elements of food protection. The certified curricula will meet specific standards, span a professional’s entire career, and serve as an umbrella to incorporate existing training programs,” Corby added.
In June 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on oversight by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of state contracts. In this report, the OIG recommended that the FDA take steps to promote equivalency among federal and state food safety standards, inspection programs, and enforcement practices. State food inspectors perform more than 90 percent of all food plant inspections in the U.S., including more than half of all FDA inspections under contracts with FDA. Yet, there is no mandatory training requirement for state and local food safety professionals, and training varies by state. In fiscal year 2008, state and local inspectors conducted more than 2,000,000 inspections, including approximately 10,000 FDA food contract inspections.
AFDO Committees will be charged to assist the organization in developing this training institute. A special meeting for AFDO Committee Chairs will be held in Chicago prior to AFDO’s Annual Education Conference to discuss these charges and other issues relating to this project.
More information about the development of the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) can be found on AFDO’s website at www.afdo.org. Inquiries into these matters can be referred to AFDO’s Executive Director, Joseph Corby.
About W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930. The organization supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and in southern Africa.
For further information on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.wkkf.org.
Disclaimer:
The following is provided for informational purposes only. These events are not co-sponsored by WAFDO, and listing in this web site in no way implies that WAFDO has reviewed or endorses these events.
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