Dr. Martin Cole Named Director of the
National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST)

Dr. Martin Cole joins NCFST from Food Science Australia where he served as the Group Manager, Food Safety and Quality, and, most recently, as the Deputy CEO. NCFST, founded in 1988, at Illinois Institute of Technology is a unique consortium of food industry companies, FDA, and university-based scientists. The NCFST Center Director is responsible for the leadership of a dynamic research and education program at the world-renowned Food Safety Research Center.

Dr. Cole has 15 years of international experience in R&D management within the food industry and government. His previous positions include the Group Director of Food Safety, Microbiology & Chemistry at Nabisco, USA, and Head of Microbiology and Preservation at Unilever, Netherlands. Dr. Cole serves as the Chairman of the International Commission for the Microbiological Specifications of Food and is a member of the Editorial Board of Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies. In addition, Dr. Cole was awarded the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) International Leadership Award for 2004 and will be giving the Ivan Parkin Lecture at this year's IAFP meeting. Dr. Cole will join NCFST in June.

Record Number of Teachers Apply for FDA/NSTA
Professional Development Program in Food Science

A record number (167) of middle level and high teachers from across the United States and Guam, applied for 50 openings in the 5^th annual FDA/National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Professional Development Program in Food Science. This week-long program (July 18-25 for high school teachers and August 1-8 for middle school teachers) supports the use of the FDA/NSTA supplementary food safety and food science curriculum Science and Our Food Supply. Accepted participants are from 25 states, the District of Columbia, and the territory of Puerto Rico. For the first time, teachers from New Hampshire and the District of Columbia will be participating. Educators from all 50 states, as well the U.S. Virgin Islands have now been accepted into the program. The teachers attending the workshops this summer are distributed between rural (19), urban (14), and suburban (17) schools.

The workshop includes briefings on the global issues of food safety, food microbiology, epidemiology and outbreak investigations, and resources available through the Foodborne Illness Education and Information Center at the National Agricultural Library. The science teachers will see food science and food safety in action through tours of CFSAN laboratories, the laboratories at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, and a seafood processing plant in Baltimore. The teachers will also spend 2 days at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland conducting experiments from Science and Our Food Supply, and they will have an opportunity to practice the classroom activities as well.

The teachers who participate in the program will be required to conduct a day-long workshop for other teachers in their district or at statewide meetings. This requirement provides a multiplier-effect in the number of teachers reached with Science and Our Food Supply, estimated to be 4,000. Since October, 2001, more than 30,000 copies of the curriculum have been requested.

2004 Grassroots Food Safety Education Initiatives

This year's grassroots food safety education projects concentrate heavily on reaching persons especially susceptible to foodborne illness or those responsible for their care, such as pregnant women, parents of young children, and seniors. The majority of the projects target culturally diverse populations. In addition, several projects continue the emphasis on food safety training of food service personnel begun in 2002.

Now in its seventh year, the PAS Food Safety Education Project Award Program has conveyed vital food safety information and training to consumers and key local multipliers such as WIC personnel, and community organizations and local agencies serving multicultural populations. In addition, participating Public Affairs Specialists (PAS's) and their partners from other Federal, state, and local agencies; voluntary groups; and the private sector have used a variety of innovative and effective means to deliver food safety education.

In cooperation with FDA's Office of Regulatory Affairs, 17 projects have been selected and will be funded by FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).

Many of the projects are multilingual, including:

• Bilingual food safety workshops for pregnant women in the Bronx and Brooklyn, NY.
• A food safety for pregnant women, babies, and toddlers train-the-trainer program for community leaders and WIC staff working with mothers throughout Puerto Rico.
• Bilingual food safety workshops for consumers in colonias (Hispanic neighborhoods) in cities along the Texas-Mexico border.
• Multimedia adaptation of FDA food safety materials in, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, and Russian, as well as English, to be used with populations who speak these languages initially in Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon, and ultimately wherever needed in the U.S.
• Food safety exhibits and fact sheets in English, Spanish, Chinese & Vietnamese for display at grocery stores and health department workshops throughout Georgia and South Carolina.
• Food safety training of trainers, including Extension agents and volunteers who teach food safety in English, Spanish & Creole to seniors, families with young children, and teens.
• Bilingual food safety materials distribution at local Latino stores in the Boulder, CO area.

Four involve food safety exhibits and demonstrations at such public events as:

• The Indiana Black Exposition 19^th Annual Minority Health Fair which attracts some 50,000 people each year.
• The American Indian Exposition in Anadarko, OK.
• Health fairs in the San Francisco area
• Various events in Central Florida

And four target food service workers:

• Bilingual training of Hispanic and other food service workers in Brunswick County, NC
• Bilingual training of school food service, Extension staff, and WIC clients in Elizabeth and Westfield, NJ
• Training of hospital, school, and non-chain restaurant food service workers, as well as Native American trainers and culinary students in the Buffalo, NY area
• Training of school food service and restaurant workers in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Food Safety and Security Staff E-mail:

Office Number: (301) 436-2277· FAX (301) 436-2605 CFSAN Web site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/