Several Iowa State University food safety faculty members collaborated with visiting Professor Dr. Aura Daraba University of Galati in Romania  to present the webinar Assuring Food Safety in Foodservice Systems: A Managerial Approach.

Participants included students from two Romania universities currently enrolled in Food Science curriculum. Graduates from this program of study often work as managers in catering and retail foodservices throughout Europe. Most students understand application of food safety management within the food processing sectors, but have little understanding on how to use food safety management practices within the foodservice sector.

During the two day- one hour webinar series, Drs. Catherine Strohbehn and Lakshman Rajagopal from the Hospitality Management Program and Drs. Angela Shaw and Aubrey Mendonca from Food Science and Human Nutrition each gave a thirty- minute presentation.  Dr. Strohbehn began day one webinar with an overview of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) applied to the foodservice setting and Dr. Shaw followed with a more specific talk on Critical Control Point Management within this venue. 

On day two, Dr. Rajagopal addressed Physical Hazards, Chemical Hazards, and Food Allergies, and Dr. Mendonca finished with a lecture on Importance of Sanitation within foodservice.  After each day’s presentations, students and faculty were able to ask questions and receive answers during a live question and answer session.
Although there were few time and technology issues, student feedback was positive. 

Preliminary data received from University "Dunarea de Jos" of Galati showed that over 75 % of the audience found the information provided through the webinar "very useful" (52%) or “useful” (24%).