The importance of training food handlers is acknowledged as critical to effective food hygiene.  However, the effectiveness of traditional food safety training remains uncertain. Traditionally food safety training courses are delivered via class-room based settings or computer-based programs with little to no hands-on application. The literature suggests that adults learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process.  Retention by participants is directly affected by the amount of practice during the learning; yet traditional food safety training is not delivered in this fashion.

I will be presenting at the National Environmental Health Association Educational Conference in Washington, DC July 9-11, 2013. I will be discussing my previous work on hands-on food safety training, a collaborated effort with Drs. Doug Powell, Ben Chapman, and Leigh Murray, as well as a new food safety training delivery program developed for multicultural temporary food service events.