Food manufacturers are required to have programs in place to manage the suppliers of food contact materials (e.g., processing aids, ingredients, and packaging materials) used for finished products. In the US, these requirements are defined in both government regulations and third-party audit standards typically required through customer contracts. With the adoption of FSMA, new regulations and evolving supplier management program standards have made it necessary for food manufacturers to adapt to the supply chain risks. This project aimed to investigate US regulatory and audit standards for supplier management requirements and develop a training program to help food manufacturers understand and meet these obligations. A training program was designed by investigating FSMA supplier verification requirements and GFSI audit standards as well as scientific studies on supply chain management, which was then evaluated utilizing pre- and post-knowledge assessments of the participants. Results indicated that the training curriculum developed effectively increased supplier management knowledge post-training and identified areas for improving the curriculum.
T. A. McCune
Curriculum/Training Development