Development and Evaluation of an Online Food Safety Course for Artisan Cheesemakers in the United States

Abstract

With over 90 U.S. outbreaks dating back to 1998 that were linked to cheese products, cheese processors in the United States are an important node for food safety. Awareness of food safety best practices and complying with regulations has been identified as a need by many cheese safety experts. In response, an online “Food Safety Basics for Artisan Cheesemakers” course was developed for a national audience by following the principles of instructional design. Over 800 participants registered for the course within the first year, 30% of whom (248) completed the course. Participants’ reactions to the course and self-reported knowledge gain was measured as were attitudes, self-efficacies, intentions, and self-reported changes in their food safety practices. Of the 128 participants who completed an evaluation of the course, 97% (124) reported that they were satisfied with course relevance and overall quality. Sixteen participants completed a follow-up questionnaire 1 month after completing the course in which they were asked to what extent they changed their food safety practices. On average, 42% reported that they either have already changed or intend to update their food safety practices in the future based on what they learned in the course. INTRODUCTION Dairy products accounted for more foodborne illness hospitalizations over an 11-year period (1998 to 2008) than 16 other commodity foods (27). Ninety cheese-related outbreaks were reported in the United States from 1998 to 2011, with 1,882 illnesses, 230 hospitalizations, and six deaths (15). Food safety education for artisan cheesemakers will theoretically raise awareness and result in implementation of best practices (6, 22, 23, 36). Whereas some study results have suggested that education results in improvements in food safety practices (1, 22, 23, 30), other results have suggested that training does not influence food safety behaviors (5, 31). However, food safety risks can be reduced by implementing an effective food safety management system that consists of good manufacturing practices (GMPs), risk-based preventive controls, and