Eurofins, FSC to Create Food Safety Training, Analytics

DES MOINES, IAFlorida State College (FSC) at Jacksonville and Eurofins Scientific Inc. have joined together to offer educational, testing and certification services for qualified personnel to monitor and assess food safety at all points along the supply chain. The partnership will invest resources in a consortium towards three main goals: food safety education programs and outreach Initiatives; analytical testing capabilities and third party auditing and certification services. FSC will expand its Associate of Science (AS) Biotech degree program to include the new training curriculum, while Eurofins will staff, equip and operate a fully independent, commercial testing laboratory focused on food safety analytical parameters. The Eurofins facility at FSC will adhere to Eurofins standards as a part of the Eurofins network of laboratories. Students in the FSC food safety program will intern at the new Eurofin laboratory to gain hands-on experience working in a high-quality, fast-paced commercial setting.

A newly established Institute for Food Safety (IFS), funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, will oversee the educational and outreach component of this food safety collaboration. The IFS Advisory Council consists of representatives from the FSC, Eurofins and NSF, as well as from food manufacturing and retail companies, state and national regulatory agencies, and trade associations. IFS will provide degreed programs, continuing education, certificate programs, research and standards development in food safety, with initial emphasis on frozen seafood.

There are two phases to the analytics component, pending approval of economic development incentives from the City of Jacksonville and the State of Florida. The first phase, beginning in summer 2010, will be the creation of a microbiology laboratory established in the existing Advanced Technology Center (ATC) facility on the downtown campus. Experienced design teams from the FSC and Eurofins are close to finalizing plans for the Phase 1 facility, and key Eurofins staff have been identified and put into position. This phase will serve as an operational pilot while final specifications and designs are completed for a completely new, designed-for-purpose facility. The permanent facility will also be located on the downtown campus and will house a full-service commercial food chemistry and microbiology laboratory to be run by Eurofins; it will also feature teaching laboratories FSC will use as their primary base for course instruction.

According to Eurofins, additional multi-institutional grant applications are in progress that will allow the expansion of the IFS curriculum into areas such as food safety auditor training programs to address the growing needs of industry and regulators in this critical area.