Professional Development Program for Teachers

Take advantage of the current trends in food science.

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The Curriculum

Developed by the FDA and a team of curriculum advisors for
Middle and High School educators.

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How to Register

About the Program

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FDA’s Professional Development Program in Food Science has evolved to an asynchronous training course consisting of four separate classes – one for each of the curriculum topics:

Science and Our Food Supply: Investigating Food Safety from Farm to Table

Science and Our Food Supply: Using the Nutrition Facts Label to Make Healthy Food Choices

Science and Our Food Supply: Exploring Food Agriculture and Biotechnology

Science and Our Food Supply: Examining Dietary Supplements

Choose training in all four curriculum topics or just those that work with your classes. Complete each training topic within three weeks and earn one CEU credit for each class. This ongoing program is supported and directed by the FDA and administered by Graduate School USA.

You may take one or all of the courses, but you must complete one full course before you can register for/begin the next one.

Registration is open for Science and Our Food Supply: Examining Dietary Supplements. Complete the course within 3 weeks to receive one CEU for your 10 hours of training. Click here to register.

Registration is open for Science and Our Food Supply: Exploring Food Agriculture and Biotechnology. Complete the course within 3 weeks to receive one CEU for your 10 hours of training. Click here to register.

Registration is open for Science and Our Food Supply: Using the Nutrition Facts Label to Make Healthy Food Choices. Complete the course within 3 weeks to receive one CEU for your 10 hours of training. Click here to register.

Registration is open for Science and Our Food Supply: Investigating Food Safety from Farm to Table. Complete the course within 3 weeks to receive one CEU for your 10 hours of training. Click here to register.

Start your journey: Discover FDA's
Science and Our Food Supply Curriculum!

The FDA Professional Development Program in Food Science is based on the Science and Our Food Supply curriculum, which focuses on Food Safety, Nutrition, Agricultural Biotechnology, and Dietary Supplement Education.

Investigating Food Safety from Farm to Table

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This new 2024 edition combines the previous middle and high school Teacher’s Guides into one updated Teacher’s Guide for selection of appropriate lessons that fit each class, regardless of grade level, and it incorporates content from the original Food Safety A-Z Guide into each module’s background information. It also has new food safety lab instruction videos to help teachers and students visualize and carry out the steps of the labs. This curriculum links to current education standards.

In the guide, you’ll find in-depth activities and labs covering this broad range of topics:

  • Bacteria, including Foodborne Pathogen
    • The Farm-to-Table Continuum of Food Safety
    • Pasteurization Technology
    • The Science of Cooking a Hamburger
  • DNA Fingerprinting
  • Outbreak Analysis

Using the Nutrition Facts Label to Make Healthy Food Choices

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The Nutrition Facts label is an accessible tool with nutrient information to help make healthy food choices. Students will learn about the label, and that nutrition not only aids in general well-being, but also can help prevent or manage chronic diseases later in life.

Exploring Food Agriculture and Biotechnology

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The science and technologies of food production, transportation, storage, and preparation evolve to enhance food safety, quality, and varieties. Students will learn about new research methodologies that have enabled scientists to broaden their understanding of food science and about emerging technologies that help to safeguard health.

Examining Dietary Supplements

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Teens are particularly vulnerable targets for misunderstanding what dietary supplements are and are often unaware of the potential benefits and adverse effects they can have on their bodies. This curriculum is designed to empower students to evaluate the accuracy and credibility of information they see and hear about dietary supplements.

 

 

Click here to register for the Nutrition course!

Click here to register for the Agricultural Biotechnology course!

Click here to register for the Dietary Supplements course!

Click here to register for the Food Safety Course!

Eligibility Requirements

This course is available free of charge to teachers who meet the following Eligibility Requirements:

  • Be employed full time as a middle or secondary school teacher (Grades 6 - 12)
  • Teach science, agriculture, health, or FCS in a public or private school in the United States, U.S territories, or DoD school system
  • Have a current teaching certificate to be included with your registration. (If a teaching certificate is not required by your current school, a letter of explanation will be required.)

Questions? Please refer to the CONTACT link at the top of this page.

Resources Discover the many great resources to enhance your classes. Full List

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The Partnership for Food Safety Education – Fight Bac!

This site has links to food safety curricula for grades K – 3 and 4 – 6.

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Food Insight

This website is provided by the International Food Information Council Foundation and is dedicated to the mission of effectively communicating science-based information on health, food safety and nutrition for the public good.

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Bad Bug Book

The Bad Bug Book 2nd Edition, released in 2012, provides current information about the major known agents that cause foodborne illness.

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FDA Resource

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) provides services to consumers, domestic and foreign industry, and other outside groups.

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CDC Teacher Roadmap

CDC's Teacher Roadmap is a collection of resources for educators wishing to teach classes, units, or entire courses in epidemiology and public health sciences (EPHS).

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Frequently Asked Questions Get your answers here.

Click here to register for the Nutrition course.
Click here to register for the Agricultural Biotechnology course.
Click here to register for the Dietary Supplements course.
Yes, all teachers who meet the Eligibility Requirements may register.
To be eligible to participate in the Professional Development Program in Food Science, you must:
  • Be employed full time as a middle school or secondary school teacher (Grades 6-12)
  • Teach science, agriculture, health, or FCS in a public or private school in the U.S, the US territories, or the DoD school system
  • Have an up-to-date teaching certificate that will be uploaded as part of your registration
Teachers who fulfill the eligibility requirements and commit to completing the course are eligible.

There is a limited number of course seats each year depending on FDA’s funding. Once the limit has been reached, no more registrations will be accepted until there is additional funding. We will maintain a waiting list and notification will be sent when slots in the class(es) become available.
You must be a certified teacher to register. However, if your current school does not require a teaching certificate, please submit a Letter of Explanation in lieu of the certificate document.
You will receive an email from Graduate School USA that will instruct you how to log-in to the course.

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