EQUIPPING SMALL PROCESSORS TO THRIVE IN LARGER MARKETS: A HYBRID APPROACH TO SUPPORT TRAINING EFFICACY

Food producers of all sizes must produce food products of suitable quality for safe consumption under conditions that prevent product and ingredient contamination. Small processors face critical capacity challenges with workforce, food safety training, and regulatory compliance understanding. To address this need, Virginia Tech, in partnership with University of Arkansas, University of Georgia, and North Carolina State University, propose a multi-state Collaborative Education and Training Project to develop, deliver, and evaluate a hybrid training for small processor education aimed at effectively addressing both regional similarities in training needs and state-specific regulatory compliance concerns. This hybrid training program will provide small processors with virtual, asynchronous regulatory overview modules addressing state-specific regulatory and inspection requirements relevant to small processors, in-person modules addressing methods for producing safe food, factors that impact microbial growth, developing a food safety system for a small operation, and strategies for working with buyers, and an interactive activity designed to show training participants how to evaluate a model food product for factors to control to minimize risk and records to keep to support compliance. The project team has developed a plan for evaluation informed by three overlapping approaches that evaluate the engagement, experience, confidence, and efficacy of the training content. Evaluation data from the state-specific regulatory modules will be used to inform additional resource needs for each state, disseminated through fact sheets, and shared at local meetings.