A Coordinated Response to Food Emergencies: An Introduction is an awareness-level, web-based course that addresses effective communication and coordination among food emergency response personnel during an incident response. This course helps participants understand how the food industry has evolved in recent years to become global in scope. Participants identify possible vulnerabilities of the food chain, determine whether federal, state, and local agencies need to get involved in an investigation, and learn to conduct a rapid, well-coordinated investigation and response to stop ongoing outbreaks and reduce the number of illnesses. Participants apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in the course by answering the interactive components of the online course.

Access NCBRT web-based training at http://www.ncbrt.lsu.edu/elearn

Course Objectives
At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the complexities of the food supply chain and associated vulnerabilities.
• Identify the types of incidents and threat agents associated with a food defense event.
• Describe vulnerability assessment tools that can be used to prevent a food defense incident.
• Outline the roles and authorities of federal agencies during a post-harvest food incident.
• Identify the roles and authorities of state and local agencies during a post-harvest food incident.
• Describe the role of industry during a post-harvest food incident.
• Explain how the roles of federal, state, and local agencies may change according to the type of incident.
• Illustrate the importance of coordinating food surveillance, epidemiological investigation, and response efforts.
• Describe how planning may assist in supporting the effective management of a large-scale, food-related incident.
• Identify the basic principles associated with the National Incident Management System, the Incident Command System, and the National Response Framework.
• List the key activities of an active Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Target Audience/Discipline
Emergency Management Agency, Governmental Administrative, Public Safety Communications, Healthcare, Public Health

The target audience for this course includes: federal, state, local, and tribal food investigators/inspectors; food safety and defense personnel responsible for food incident response; food industry personnel responsible for food safety; food safety program managers; personnel from state emergency management agencies, the state Homeland Security Office, and state and local Environmental Protection Agencies (EPAs); public health epidemiologists; public health personnel; environmental health professionals; veterinary epidemiologists; school program officials from state Departments of Education; Cooperative Extension Service personnel; laboratory staff; import officers; Department of Defense (DoD) personnel responsible for food defense; and public information officers (PIOs) from the various agencies represented.

Level of training Awareness

Hours 4.0

Format Web-Based Training

DHS Course # AWR-230-W

Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course

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