The four-day training brought 14 public health agents, food safety educators, and land-grant extension agents to Guam from Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the islands of Yap, Pohnpei, Kosrae, and Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia to learn about food safety practices to prevent foodborne illnesses.

Foodborne diseases are a significant public health issue across the Western Pacific, according to the World Health Organization, yet few food safety professionals in the region have had access to appropriate resources, including training on the national Food Safety Modernization Act.

Extension food-safety specialist Jang Ho Kim of the University of Idaho, who previously worked with Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Services at Northern Marianas College in Saipan, is the director of the grant program, titled “Customized Food Safety Education Strategy for Hard-to-Reach Audiences in the Western Pacific Islands.”

“This is a training for agriculture and extension agents, and then they will go out and teach and provide food safety information for their people, like farmers and processors,” he said.

The participants said there is a general lack of awareness about the importance of food safety on their islands. One shared how high electricity costs prompt residents of Kosrae to turn off their refrigerators overnight, increasing the risk of food contamination.

“I’m excited to bring back the training materials and try to tailor fit it to what we practice back home, especially in the hospital because that’s where we serve the most vulnerable people,” said Steward Molens, a nutritionist at Pohnpei State Hospital.

Joining Kim in delivering the training were UOG food scientist Jian Yang; director of the Food Technology Center at the University of Idaho Joshua Bevan; and Douglas Marshall, chief scientific officer for Eurofins Microbiology Laboratories Inc. out of Colorado.

They provided an overview of the FSMA and conducted sessions on farm worker health and hygiene, produce safety, best manufacturing practices, developing food product ideas, and the pandemic’s effect on food safety.

“You’re the future of the food system in Guam and Micronesia,” Peter Barcinas, interim associate director of UOG’s extension service, told the participants. “I hope that as you look at your food system and the credentialing of the people that support your institutional markets, you’ll think of us and future training that’s ahead and take advantage of any capacity building like this and look to your partners for support.”

View Photo Album