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Governmental Food Safety Professional Workforce Estimation Model

Abstract

Governmental food safety professionals (FSPs) play a critical role in verifying that the food industry is fulfilling its responsibilities. Without the ability to accurately estimate the workforce population of FSPs, there is a high likelihood of misalignment of governmental spending and other allocated resources that raises potential concerns regarding the effectiveness of the U.S. food safety system. The development of our Governmental Food Safety Professional Workforce Estimation Model was based on a rigorous process to gain a better understanding of the estimated number of FSPs within various nonfederal governmental agencies. The modeling process indicated the population of the nonfederal governmental FSP workforce in the U.S. to be an estimated 43,289. This estimate does not include the federal FSP workforce population, which would significantly increase the projected overall FSP governmental workforce population. This study provides a workforce estimation model that can a) aid in the allocation of crucial federal resources to fill gaps in staffing and competency-based training and b) increase awareness of the need for and access to a standardized training curriculum for this country's FSPs.

Authors

  • Kieran Fogarty, PhD, Western Michigan University
  • Bryan Harmer, MA, Western Michigan University
  • Craig Kaml, EdD, International Food Protection Training Institute
  • Chris Weiss, PhD, International Food Protection Training Institute
  • Paul K. Dezendorf, Western Carolina University
  • Gerald Wojtala, International Food Protection Training Institute
Volume#: 84.8
Page #: 26-31
Publication Month: April 2022

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