R. Kevin Pegg, Ph.D.,

Biotechnology and Institute for Food Safety,

Florida State College at Jacksonville, FL

Presented at the 8th Annual Community College Day in conjunction with BIO 2011, Washington D.C., June 26, 2011

The Institute for Food Safety Biotechnology

Programat Florida State College at Jacksonville

*IFS

* FSCJ Institute for Food Safety

*Developed beginning in 2008 as a collaborative between the college and local industry led by Beaverstreet Fisheries

*Jacksonville sits at a transportation nexus and is a major site for seafood importation

*Imported seafood growing by up to 8% per year

*US now imports from 60 countries

*Numerous regulations: *International, Three federal agencies, sometimes four

*50 states, numerous municipalities

*IFS

*Importation has conflicting regulations unevenly applied

*Quarantined on arrival until testing completed

*Up to 2 months

*On top of up to a month at sea

* Shelf life a year or less

*Testing arbitrary and capricious

*Reactive to last scare

*Only a handful of labs for testing

* Infrastructure problems included sample collection at the plant, shipping costs and delays, too few labs with long lead times, and finding trained personnel

*Beaverstreet Fisheries Founder Harry Frisch’s vision:

*An impartial institute to work on processor food safety training and technology across all industries

*IFS

*Skill set analysis

*Food testing lab technicians need knowledge in:*Basic lab bench top skills

*Chain of custody

*Working in regulated environment

*Sample prep

*Spectroscopy, HPLC, PCR, microbial techniques

*Developed a separate track in the existing biotechnology A.S.

*IFS

*Institute for Food Safety founded based on BSF endowment

*Industry partners recruited

*Curriculum developed

*Received an NSF ATE grant for development

*Phase One IFS launched Fall of 2010

*Expanded beyond initial focus on seafood to include eggs, dairy, meat, beverages

*IFS Phase 1

*A) Developed a Stacked Curriculum model for implementation

*IFS Phase 1

*B) Recruited a TPO: Eurofins

*Developed a fee-for-service food testing laboratory within the biotechnology lab spaces

*Separate, shared, and mirrored equipment and spaces

*College gets rent and royalty on sales*Money returned to the program as tuition and

paid traineeships

*Job shadowing from day 1

*Internships on premise

*IFS Phase 1

*Facility:

*IFS Phase 1

*Facility:

*IFS Phase 1

*Facility:

*IFS Phase 1

*First year (2010/2011) stats:*Recruited 17 students into the biotech testing track (five terms, cohort graduating in 2012)*Three were unable to progress (math and

chemistry issues)

*Five moved to the academic track (internship presentations from Mayo!)

*Nine continued into fall, year two (fourth of the five term program)

*Approximately 19 new students beginning in Fall 2011 (graduating in 2013)

*On track for sustainability

*IFS Phase 1

*FSCJ Biotechnology

*Began as a boutique program in 2005 training lab assistants for Mayo Clinic

*By 2011:

*Phase 2

*2013

*FSMA

*Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

*Signed into law in January

*Most significant legislation on food safety since the 1930’s

*Overdue, catalysts included the Macondo Blowout (“Gulf Oil Spill”) and egg recalls

*Impacts entire food handling system:

“from farm to fork”

*FSMA

*FSMA Drivers

*Spinach

*Chinese imports (melamine, etc.)

*Gulf Oil

*Eggs

*Etc.

* International scope: German sprouts

*Globalization of food supply means concerns will continue until governments act

*15 countries represented in a single restaurant taco:* Your Taco Deconstructed (

http://www.good.is/post/your-taco-deconstructed/)

*Shortfall of employment candidates even before the FSMA

*All new estimates for employment shortfalls from the FSMA are in the tens of thousands of positions

*FSMA

*Food Safety Positions Private/Government

*Field tester

* Even some family farms will fall under FDA with full FSM implementation; the State of Florida has identified this area as one where job growth will occur as a result of the FSMA

*Laboratory

* Pre-FSMA data:

* current testing, nearly $3 billion, is in microbial testing methodologies and this is the fastest growing sector projected at $4.2 Billion by 2015

* Inspector

* Inspectors check the safety or veracity of components: batches of product or ingredients, equipment lines

*Auditor

* Conduct top-to-bottom reviews of entire plants

* Top of the food-chain of safety jobs

*FSMA

*Current Education Path

*One program emphasizing food testing (FSCJ)

*Few food safety degree programs

*Most graduates have a bachelors in food science or food management

*Heavy reliance on internal training, already changing as a result of FSMA

*Organoleptics example

*Heavy reliance on certification programs

*Many are poorly written, not current, and not sanctioned by trade groups. New definition of certificate training underway by a consortium of industry trade associations.

* Job shadowing and mentoring for auditors

*No facility existed before FSCJ, no programs

* Can take 20+ years to produce an auditor

*Proposed Institute for Food Safety Phase 2

*New labs, curriculum and technology

*20,000 to 30,000 square feet of dedicated space

*$14 million dollar investment

Architectural rendering:

*IFS Phase2

*IFS Phase2

*Proposed Institute for Food Safety Phase 2

*Two spaces not usually found in a biotech lab

*Bottling plant

*Mock training facility for training inspectors and auditors using an existing manufacturing line from a former program

* Test kitchen

*Expanded Analytical spaces

*Took this opportunity to expand academic program as well

*Vivarium, aquariums and more of everything

*Eventually expected to expand to all three floors, about 40,000 square feet of dedicated space

*Surge Capacity????

*IFS Phase2

*Proposed Institute for Food Safety Phase 2

*Floor 1

*IFS Phase2

*Proposed Institute for Food Safety Phase 2

*Floor 2

*Thanks!

*Acknowledgments:

*National Science Foundation

*Eurofins

*Beaverstreet Fisheries

*BioFlorida

*Thermo-Fisher, Waters Corporation, Agilent, Rich Products, Preferred Freezers

*Mayo Clinic, Nemours, and other Advisory Board Members