By Charles Hurburgh–Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
This standardized course was created by the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA) to serve employees and managers of facilities that are processing any type of animal food (complete feed or ingredients). These facilities need at least one designated Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI), as defined in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011.The course will be offered jointly by the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative and the American Feed Industry Association.
FSMA requires processing facilities to use Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) and to implement a written animal food safety plan developed and overseen by a PCQI. Food safety plans are specific to a facility, because every facility will have differences in raw materials, processes, or customers.
Facility inspections for both CGMP and food safety plans have begun under the leadership of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the designee of the Federal Food and Drug Administration for feed in Iowa.
Operators and managers of animal food facilities are encouraged to attend and obtain their PCQI training certification. Certificates of completion will be given by the FSPCA to attendees who complete all sessions. Iowa State was the first to offer this course, in 2016, and has offered sixteen such courses for various segments of the animal food industry.
The course is being taught by Charles Hurburgh, professor and extension ag health and safety specialist in agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University; Connie Hardy, program specialist with ISU Extension and Outreach; and Gary Huddleston, director of feed manufacturing and regulatory affairs with the American Feed Industry Association.
For more information, contact Hurburgh at (515)-294-8629 or [email protected]. Visit http://www.aep.iastate.edu/animalfood/ for course details and registration.
