BATTLE CREEK, Mich., – The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI), a non-profit organization delivering career-spanning, standards-based training to food safety
officials, announced today that it has received a multi-year grant of
$1.3 million per year from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The funding will support joint efforts by FDA and IFPTI to implement
the national food-training infrastructure mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act. This competitive grant is year-one of a five-year cooperative agreement.
Each year, foodborne illness strikes approximately 48 million
Americans, hospitalizing a hundred thousand and killing thousands. IFPTI
and FDA are committed to bringing high quality training to food
protection professionals to ensure a competent work force at all levels
of government. IFPTI is FDA’s lead training partner in building the
integrated food safety system. IFPTI has trained more than 1,800 food safety inspectors from 49 states.
"The International Food Protection Training Institute has made Battle Creek the national leader in food safety. The training being done at IFPTI is preparing thousands of food safety professionals who are on the front lines protecting our food supply and keeping our families safe," said U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, D–Mich., Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry.
Gerald Wojtala, Executive Director of IFPTI said, “We look forward to
continuing our collaboration with FDA. In this era of thrifty budget
management, investing the country’s limited tax dollars in building the
training infrastructure for the integrated food safety system is the most cost-effective way to ensure the nation’s food supply is safe.”
Dr. Julia Bradsher, President and CEO of the Global Food Protection
Institute commented, “Building an integrated system between federal,
state and local agencies responsible for the safety of the nation’s food
supply relies heavily on training, and the International Food Protection Training Institute is meeting that need.”
About IFPTI
The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) is a
501(c)(3) non-profit organization building and administering the
training infrastructure for the nation’s integrated food safety system.
Working with federal regulatory and public health officials, IFPTI is
establishing and overseeing the implementation of a career-spanning food
protection training curriculum that will increase capacity, and assure
competency and equivalency throughout all regulatory jurisdictions in
meeting established U.S. federal food safety
standards.
IFPTI is an initiative of the Global Food Protection Institute (GFPI).
GFPI is driving the adoption of food protection policies and practices
for a safer global food supply.
Financial support for IFPTI is provided by a grant from the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA), and through the generosity of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
IFPTI’s training facilities are located in Western Michigan University’s Kendall Center in Battle Creek, MI. For more information, visit www.ifpti.org.
About GFPI
The Global Food Protection Institute (GFPI) is a community of action
advancing food protection. Founded in 2009, the Institute is positioned
at the nexus of the social, political, economic, and environmental
driving forces influencing the adoption of food protection policies and
practices that lead to improved public health.
GFPI's family of global initiatives includes the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) which is building the training infrastructure in support of an integrated food safety system, the Emerging Technology Accelerator (ETA) which is advancing the development of novel food
protection technologies, and Imagined Food Futures (IFF) which is
facilitating the adoption of policies and practices that will lead to
improved public health.
Start-up funding for GFPI has been generously provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. For more information, visit www.gfpi.org.