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FSMA compliance and the small food business: the role of food safety education and sanitation in prevention of foodborne disease and outbreaks

Barone, Nicholas
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1585906854175103

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Food Science and Technology.
The Food Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 contains many regulations that apply to food enterprises of all sizes. However, under the Preventive Controls for Human Foods (PCHF) Rule within FSMA, there are regulation subparts that may not universally apply depending on the size of the business. An emerging challenge in ensuring industry compliance with the PCHF Rule is provision of size-sensitive food safety training across the industry. In the absence of such training, significant confusion regarding industry compliance, qualified exemptions, and mandatory food safety documents remain. Notably, the PCHF Rule greatly emphasizes sanitation preventive controls, which additionally require specific guidance and training for specific monitoring, verification, and validation activities. The overall goal of this project was to assess the needs and preferences of Ohio food business owners and develop additional training content and guidance to support compliance with the PCHF Rule of FSMA. In order to educate food business owners and create a skeletal understanding of food safety requirements under PCHF, the needs and preferences for food safety trainings must first be determined. This work included distributing an anonymous online survey to food manufacturers of all sizes, to determine what topics were considered important, what method of delivery was preferable, as well as barriers preventing food safety implementation and training attendance, as seen in Chapter 2 of this manuscript. Once these needs and preferences were identified, a training appropriate for small food businesses to facilitate regulatory compliance was developed and offered throughout the state. The overall effectiveness of this training designed for small and very small food businesses and entrepreneurs was quantitatively assessed, as can be observed in Chapter 3 of this manuscript. In order to quantify training efficacy, data pertaining to prior experiences and exposure to food safety-related courses, retention of knowledge immediately after these trainings as well as over time, and the understanding and confidence in implementing training content before and after training, was collected and analyzed. Finally, implementation of sanitation preventive controls of the PCHF Rule necessitates additional industry guidance. Current sanitizer concentrations recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were assessed in a challenge study, as can be seen in Chapter 4 of this manuscript. Key variables were investigated in determining the impact varying sodium hypochlorite treatments had on the inactivation of planktonic Listeria monocytogenes cells, as well as cells adhered to the surface of a stainless-steel coupon. This study acts as a preliminary evidence for future validation studies that will thoroughly evaluate the effectiveness of the lowest recommended concentrations for sodium hypochlorite given by EPA. Collectively, these efforts serve to support FSMA compliance by small food businesses in Ohio by assessing their needs, implementing and evaluating training outcomes, and developing a framework for sanitation guidance.
Ahmed Yousef (Advisor)
Abigail Snyder (Other)
Monica Giusti (Committee Member)
109 p.
Food Science

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Barone, N. (2020). FSMA compliance and the small food business: the role of food safety education and sanitation in prevention of foodborne disease and outbreaks [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1585906854175103

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Barone, Nicholas. FSMA compliance and the small food business: the role of food safety education and sanitation in prevention of foodborne disease and outbreaks . 2020. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1585906854175103.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Barone, Nicholas. "FSMA compliance and the small food business: the role of food safety education and sanitation in prevention of foodborne disease and outbreaks ." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1585906854175103

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1585906854175103
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