Three updated Professional Education Course dates are announced for the Food Fraud Prevention Overview Seminar (a broad overview), Food Fraud Implementation Method (FFIM) Workshop (complete your vulnerability assessment and prevention strategy), and Food Fraud Annual Update (FFAU) Workshop (complete your annual review and set action items for the year).
- Event Registration:
- Food Fraud Prevention Overview Seminar: February 26, 2024, in East Lansing (Virtual option available)
- Food Fraud Implementation Method (FFIM) Workshop: February 27-28, 2024, in East Lansing
- Food Fraud Annual Update (FFAU) Workshop: February 29-March 1, 2024, in East Lansing
- Attendees: The January sessions are for brand owners only (employees/staff of companies that produce or sell a food product.)
- Future Events: The seminar/workshops in this core series run on a six month schedule.
- Note: The events are structured to run back-to-back. The key learning objective content is coordinated to build seamlessly.
The food fraud professional education courses were first offered in April 2009. Over the years, they have evolved to address the shifting food fraud compliance requirements. The courses have also expanded to include new topics such as the Food Fraud Initial Screening tool (FFIS), the Food Fraud Prevention Cycle (FFPC), and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM/ COSO).
The Food Fraud Prevention Professional Education resources include the MOOC programs (free, massive open online courses), the Blog series (short, regular updates on food fraud and related topics), Resources (video lectures, primer documents, Food Fraud Insight Reports, etc.), and Events (seminars and workshops). The Events are conducted live and are either in-person or online.
The new Event details and dates are listed below:
- Food Fraud Prevention Overview Seminar
- Overview: This is a broad introduction to the entire food fraud topic, from an overview of the critical compliance requirements to the detailed activities. The focus is on the Global Food Safety Initiative-related (GFSI) benchmark for Food Safety Management Systems (e.g., FSSC22000, SQF, BRC, IFS, and others). This also considers other laws, regulations, standards, and certifications.
- Who Should Attend: employees who are recently assigned to the food fraud prevention group, or experienced employees wanting a refresher of the overarching concepts.
- Food Fraud Implementation Method (FFIM) Workshop
- Overview: This is a standalone workshop covering the complete GSFI requirements, including a Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment (the ‘initial screening’) and a Food Fraud Prevention Strategy. This builds upon the “Food Fraud Overview Seminar” and is preparation for the “Food Fraud Annual Update Workshop.” The core concepts covered are: establishing the scope of work, conducting a Food Fraud Initial Screening (the basic Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment), and creating a Food Fraud Prevention Strategy.
- Who Should Attend: employees who are recently assigned to the food fraud prevention group, as well as companies that have not yet completed a Food Fraud Vulnerability Assessment or the Food Fraud Prevention Strategy – this has been a successful team activity with multiple attendees from the same enterprise.
- Food Fraud Annual Update (FFAU) Workshop
- Overview: This workshop was created to meet the compliance requirements for an ‘annual update’ of the food fraud prevention strategy. This workshop includes insights from our food fraud annual update survey. The workshop content is based on research, publications, and public engagement on the food fraud strategy and policy. The deliverable is a “one-stop” annual update.
- Who Should Attend: employees who are accountable for the compliance requirements for the food fraud prevention annual update – this has been a successful team activity with multiple attendees from the same enterprise.
Note: these events are led by and billed through the Food Fraud Prevention Think Tank LLC and are not affiliated with Michigan State University.
Takeaway Points
- Beyond the MOOC online courses, the live, in-person Professional Education courses provide an interactive and personal training experience, with real-world deliverables.
- The Food Fraud Prevention Academy course catalog is coordinated so that the different programs complement each other and are calibrated to support capacity-building and capability-building – in your company, more employees will more thoroughly understand this topic.
- Review your Food Fraud Prevention education and training needs and consider the Professional Education courses for you or your employees.