A leader in food safety: Oklahoma companies support FAPC in development of a food-safety program
By Rebecca Bailey
FAPC Communications Services Graduate Assistant
(Stillwater, Okla. – Jan. 22, 2013) With a growing demand for safe, quality food products, it is more important than ever that food-industry companies engage in food-safety programs. OSU’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center recognized this need and embraced this opportunity.
With the support of Oklahoma’s food-industry leaders and FAPC’s Industry Advisory Committee, the center took the next step and implemented a Global Food Safety Initiative fundraising campaign to hire a food-safety specialist. Since the campaign’s launch, nine Oklahoma companies have contributed $52,500 to support this initiative, says Chuck Willoughby, FAPC business and marketing relations manager. “We are grateful to the companies that have provided funding for the first year of this campaign and equally appreciative they have committed support for a second year,” Willoughby says. Understanding GFSI The foundation behind the Global Food Safety Initiative strives for continuous improvement of food-safety management systems to ensure safe food and consumer confidence. The program focuses on food-industry assistance in training, auditing, pre-audit preparations, education and in-plant technical assistance for food safety and quality programs. “Globalization of the food industry has significantly affected most every Oklahoma food processor directly and indirectly with mandated food-safety and security regulations and policies that cut across all food-processing sectors,” Willoughby says. Investing in the Program The FAPC initiated the fundraising campaign with a $100,000 goal to temporarily hire a food-safety specialist for two years. “We created a donation structure offering various sponsorship levels of bronze, silver, gold and platinum and approached sponsors for funds,” Willoughby says. “Those companies that wished to sponsor were agreeing to a two-year commitment to the program.” One of the key supporters and contributors to the campaign to help make this idea a reality is Dave McLaughlin, AdvancePierre Foods board member and longtime member of FAPC’s Industry Advisory Committee. McLaughlin understands the need for the center’s program. “The Global Food Safety Initiative program is a key area the FAPC could really impact and be a leader in Oklahoma and in the U.S.,” McLaughlin says. “This is why I support the GFSI campaign and very much want to see this program develop and be delivered to our state’s value-added industry, especially the smaller companies and those in rural areas.” While the FAPC has yet to reach its monetary goal, the center’s quality management specialist, Jason Young, has filled the role of the initiative’s specialist. “This is not a far cry from what Jason was previously doing,” Willoughby says. “He already worked with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points in organizing food-safety trainings and providing food-safety assistance. However, the funds raised have allowed him to receive additional training.” Assisting Oklahoma’s Food Industry As the Global Food Safety Initiative specialist, a major way Young assists food companies is by conducting internal audits. “There are several audit schemes such as Safe Quality Food and British Retail Consortium, which are designed to meet the GFSI,” Young says. “I am able to meet with the company and conduct an internal audit. … We work to identify any gaps within the company’s food safety and quality system. These gaps are further discussed to identify ways to meet the criteria.” Many times Young has additional model programs to use. Other times, he helps by looking through his resources, emailing contacts or even reviewing food-safety blogs to find ideas to create programs for the criteria. To help companies review their current programs, Young presents the businesses with an audit checklist. “This document allows companies to visualize, line item by line item, the criteria and see if their current programs meet this criteria,” Young says. This assistance gives food processors a chance to take a closer look at their systems and keep them up to date on programs. “Food companies are working hard to complete these programs, and it can be challenging,” Young says. “I go in with the goal of equipping them with the tools and knowledge needed to pass the audits and help them to learn the system faster.” In the future, Young says he hopes to create a variety of resources for food companies. “Right now, the resources are food-safety programs I have collected for the last 20 years,” Young says. “I plan to create useful resources companies can easily access from our website, whether it be model programs or internal-audit forms.” The goal is that this program will grow, leading to fewer food-safety incidents with the implementation of these schemes. “This program is one that will gain much attention and strengthen FAPC’s reputation as a leader in providing the food industry with technical and professional services,” Willoughby says. “We will continue to seek support from other food-industry partners to grow this program to help Oklahoma’s food industry meet requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act, as well as requirements that are customer-driven.”
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Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system of interdisciplinary programs that prepares students for success. OSU is America’s Brightest Orange. Through leadership and service, OSU is preparing students for a bright future and building a brighter world for all. As Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 36,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 24,000 on its combined Stillwater and Tulsa campuses, with students from all 50 states and around 120 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 245,000 students to serve Oklahoma, the nation and the world.
