John
Spink, Director
Packaging for Food and
Product Protection Initiative
165 Food Safety & Toxicology Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan 48824
Direct Phone: 517.381.4491
Main Phone: 517.432.3100
The Packaging for Food and Product
Protection (P-FAPP) Initiative
concept has its roots back in
2003 when Dr. Ed Mather, Deputy
Director of the National Center
for Food Safety & Toxicology
(NFSTC), at Michigan State University,
funded the development of the
Packaging for Food Safety course
in the Online
Professional Master of Science
in Food Safety (ProMS) program.
The Packaging for Food Safety
content and concept has grown
over the years with the support
of the current ProMS Director,
Dr. Julie Funk, the previous NFSTC
Director, Dr. Ewen Todd, and the
current NFSTC Acting Director,
Dr. Scott Winterstein.
As with the NFSTC, this initiative has expanded from food safety and a focus on foodborne illnesses, to include Homeland Security and a focus on security and defense issues.
For additional information, contact
PFAPP Director, John Spink, spinkj@msu.edu,
517.381.4491, or the NFSTC Communications
Director, Sandy Enness, enness@msu.edu,
517.432.3100.
Background
This initiative has also been successful through the support and involvement of an interdisciplinary group:
- MSU NFSTC: Ms. Pattie McNiel, Mr. Trent Wakenight, Ms. Kristi Gates, Ms. Sandy Enness, Ms. Jen Sysak, to name a few critical contributors and supporters.
- MSU Food Safety Policy Center: Dr. Ewen Todd and Dr. Craig Harris
- MSU School of Packaging: Dr. Bruce Harte, Dr. Robb Clarke, Dr. Laura Bix, Dr. Paul Singh, Dr. Diana Twede, Dr. Hugh Lockhart, Dr. Sue Selke, Dr. Gary Burgess, Dr. Harold Hughes, Dr. Mark Uebersax, etc.
- MSU Communication Arts/ Consumer Behavior: Dr. Maria Lapinski and Dr. Nora Rifon.
- MSU Supply Chain Management: Dr. Cheryl Speier, Dr. Ken Boyer, and Dr. David Closs
- MSU Criminal Justice: Dr. Robyn Mace, and Dr. Ed McGarrall
- MSU Law: Dr. Neil Fortin and Dr. Peter Yu.
- MSU Veterinary Medicine: Dr. Wilson Rumbeiha and Dr. Dan Grooms.
- MSU Libraries: Ms. Anita Ezzo, Ms. Nancy Lucas, and Ms. Kara Gust.
Previous and On-Going Projects Executed Under this Initiative
Course Development:
- On-line Course: VM814/CJ814 Packaging for Food Safety - conceived, developed and taught since 2003 by John Spink.
- On-line Course: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Pkg597 Packaging for Food Safety - created and taught since
- On-line Course: VM821/CJ821 Food Protection and Defense (Packaging Module) - created and taught since 2004.
Executive Education/ Outreach:
- Packaging for Food Safety - this is an extension of VM814 and has already in process with collaboration agreements from Packaging, Supply Chain, Criminal Justice, Food Law, etc.
Committee Involvement:
- Chairman, Packaging Sub-Committee, State of Michigan’s Ag & Food Protection Strategy Team - since 2003 by John Spink
- The subcommittee has focused on raising the awareness of packaging solutions to food safety risks. One State of Michigan research report executed was “Traceability of Fresh Fruit and Produce - Overview” (FDA’s Food Traceability regulations) and current research projects are to “Review and Assess the Counterfeit Food Threat” and “Assess Options for Traceability and RFID.”
Presentations/ Guest Lectures/ Reports:
- A wide range of presentations have been presented to graduate, undergraduate, industry, and agency classes, seminars, conferences, or summits.
Future Actions/ Projects
Course Development:
- “On-Line Course: Packaging for Food and Product Protection is in development for the Food Safety ProMS course with the objective to co-list in other programs. Several industry partners are assisting in the concept development.
- Focus on expanding the student population to emerging markets especially focused on “The BRICs” - Brazil-Russia-India-China. Two students in Brazil have already taken the course and on-campus students from the other countries have been contacted regarding assisting in the expansion.
Executive Education/ Outreach:
- Explore offering the “Packaging for Food and Product Protection” course to executive education or a certificate program
- Explore expanding specific programs for specific threats, such as counterfeiting.
Committee Involvement:
- Additional information pending
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