3-A SSI Makes Splash with IAFP Booth

The 3-A SSI team is on its way home after a successful exhibition at the IAFP Annual Meeting in Cleveland. We made dozens of new friends at the event. We connected with top industry, governmental, and academic food safety professionals who stopped by the 3-A booth. We saw a few familiar faces, while most discovered 3-A for the first time.

Strong Interest in Hygienic Design

While participating in several of IAFP’s Professional Development Group (PDG) meetings, the 3-A team learned there is a very strong interest in hygienic design training amongst food safety professionals and regulators. It was a great opportunity to showcase the 3-A Hygienic Design e-Learning Modules.

“IAFP participants had good questions about their operational challenges,” says Meri Beth Wojtaszek, Executive Director of 3-A SSI, “and our team was able to connect problems to solutions in existing 3-A Standards. There’s just no beating the credibility of peer-to-peer conversations.”

In-Booth “Mini Sessions” Drive Interest

3-A held a series of “mini sessions” in its booth, attracting participants to many of the sessions.

• "Your Next Chapter in Food Safety: Becoming a 3-A CCE"
• "3-A Symbol Verification in 60 Seconds"
• "From Quality Assurance Leader to Standards Developer"
• "Equipment Specification 101: Getting What You Need"
• "Problem-Solving with 3-A Standards"
• "Student Spotlight: Your Path to Hygienic Design"
• "Faculty Network: Building Industry Partnerships"

In addition to Wojtaszek, Eric Schweitzer, Director, Standards & Certification, was onsite from the 3-A staff to lead these mini sessions in the 3-A booth.

Quick Check

Wojtaszek and Schweitzer explained the connection between 3-A Standards and the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) to many attendees. Equipment that is in conformance with relevant 3-A Standards is also compliant with the PMO. That means regulators and processors alike can have confidence in the equipment. They don’t have to inspect it to know how it performs.

“IAFP participants had good questions about their operational challenges, and our team was able to connect problems to solutions in existing 3-A Standards. There’s just no beating the credibility of peer-to-peer conversations.”

Sometimes regulators and processors see red flags that give them reason to question the validity of a 3-A Symbol. In those situations, an online tool from 3-A can reveal whether a 3-A Symbol claim is legit. We showed processors and regulators how to tell a fraudulent 3-A Symbol from one that is legit – in less than 60 seconds – using the 3-A online tool.

Students and Faculty Strengthen Bonds with 3-A at IAFP Event

More than 40 students and faculty stopped by the 3-A booth to learn about curated resources to help them succeed. The new 3-ASSI student resources include information about the Dr. Ron Schmidt StudentTravel Award, training, and tools to help them achieve their career goals. New 3-A faculty resources include curriculum support and opportunities to forge industry partnerships and for professional development for educators.

Recruiting a New Crop of CCEs

We also met with other groups thinking about the next steps in their careers. This includes professionals who are curious about becoming a 3-A Certified Conformance Evaluator (CCE) and experienced sanitarians, inspectors and regulators interested in shaping the future of 3-A Standards as a workgroup participant or 3-A committee member. If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a CCE, please contact Eric Schweitzer at erics@3-a.org.