TABLE 1
Retail Food Safety Knowledge Areas ( N = 59) From the National Curriculum Standard Framework
ID# Knowledge Area
ID# Knowledge Area
ID# Knowledge Area
KA1 KA2 KA3 KA4 KA5 KA6 KA7 KA8 KA9
Active managerial control
KA21 Food salvage and disposal
KA41 Plan review and facility design
Advocacy Allergens Auditing Budgets
KA22 Food service
KA42 Plumbing
KA23 Food systems and sustainability
KA43 Prevailing health principles
KA24 Food transportation
KA44 Preventive controls
KA25 Formula review
KA45 Professional skills (soft skills)
Catering
KA26 Grocery
KA46 Public relations KA47 Research design KA48 Resource leveraging
Change management Communications skills Continuity of operations
KA27 Hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP)
KA28 Human resource management
KA29 Imports
KA49 Retail HACCP and variance
KA10 Cottage foods KA11 Employee safety
KA30 Incident command system KA31 Ingredients and additives
KA50 Risk analysis
KA51 Sampling techniques KA52 Science and technology KA53 Specialized process KA54 Stakeholder support
KA12 Environmental health safety
KA32 Inspections, compliance, and enforcement
KA13 Epidemiology
KA33 Integrated Food Safety System
KA14 FDA Food Code , local ordinances, codes KA34 Investigations
KA15 Foodborne illness investigation and response
KA35 Jurisdiction
KA55 Standardization
KA16 Food defense
KA36 Labeling
KA56 Statistical analysis
KA17 Food defense vulnerability assessment
KA37 Laboratory methodology
KA57 Temporary food establishments
KA18 Food emergencies
KA38 Legislative affairs policymaking
KA58 Traceability and recalls
KA19 Food preparation techniques
KA39 Microbiology KA40 Pest control
KA59 Vending
KA20 Food processing and preservation
Note. FDA = Food and Drug Administration.
EPH practices to protect the nation’s health. One example of these strong collaborations is the NEHA-FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model (RFFM) Grant Program, which invests in retail food regulatory agencies to improve retail food safety and reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors. The NEHA-FDA Retail Food Program Training Needs Assessment (Training Needs Assessment) was developed as part of the NEHA-FDA RFFM program and aimed to gather insights into the specific needs and priorities of EPH professionals and other relevant parties within the retail food safety community. The Training Needs Assessment sought to understand challenges, gaps, and emerging issues to identify training needs and inform future food safety training. This assessment tool serves as a foundation for evidence-based training and program devel- opment, enabling the development of tailored
training programs and advocacy for support- ive policies and procedures. As such, the Training Needs Assessment can foster collab- oration, strengthen the EPH workforce, and maximize the impact of limited resources. To ensure the accuracy and relevance of retail food safety research, NEHA based the Training Needs Assessment on the Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) National Cur- riculum Standards (NCS) framework (Inter- national Food Protection Training Institute, n.d.). This framework is a set of validated knowledge areas (KAs) specifically designed as part of the IFSS for human and animal food safety (Kaml et al., 2013). These standards serve as a reliable and recognized source that outlines essential topics and guidelines for food safety practices. The use of the NCS framework in the survey ensures that the Training Needs Assessment aligns with established industry standards and accurately
reflects the current practices and knowledge requirements in food safety. For the survey, we focused on 59 KAs from the retail food section of the NCS framework (Table 1). Our research aims to gain a better under- standing of the KAs that should be prioritized for training by assessing the outcomes of the Training Needs Assessment. Our analysis and recommended categorization of KAs based on relevance and exposure aims to support the prioritization of KAs for the core train- ing curriculum and the development of new trainings to fill knowledge gaps. Our analysis will also provide individuals who plan train- ings with insights to develop trainings that are targeted to move the existing workforce up the career ladder. Methods The Training Needs Assessment used a cross- sectional design to assess the needs and pri-
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July/August 2024 • our:-l o2 :A5ro:me:?-l e-l?4
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