Every year, thousands of people die, and many millions fall ill due to the consumption of unsafe food. As seafood consumption is increasing in the United States, the aquaculture industry needs well-trained food safety experts to minimize risks of foodborne diseases and contamination.
This project aims to enhance food safety knowledge and practical skills among aquaculture students at Kentucky State University (KSU) by providing professional food health certification and fish processing training. This project will support the certification of four KSU students as Food Safety Managers and twelve students with Food Handlers Cards through the state-approved platform. Also, the project will focus on the purchase of essential fish processing tools, allowing students to practice their newly acquired skills within KSU’s USDA-Certified Food Processing Facility.
This project will build capacity in food safety certification and practical fish processing. The students will have greater skill diversity, which is highly useful in a competitive job market, and also be empowered to process seafood safely, contribute to public health, and participate in educational events like product demonstrations, fostering a safer aquaculture practice and raising more certified experts in aquaculture.