CASNR leads training for two Thai Cochran Fellows
Texas Tech University's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources hosted two agricultural experts from Thailand last week as part of a 25-year old program sponsored by the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. Known as the Cochran Fellowship Program, it's the first time that Texas Tech has been selected to host Cochran fellows in the area of food safety and security.
One of the objectives of the program is to strengthen U.S. agricultural trade and market development opportunities to help countries build their capacities to trade globally, said John Burns, dean of Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. The Cochran Fellowship program, which ran from Sept. 21 to Oct. 3 in Lubbock, has provided training for more than 12,000 international participants from 101 countries worldwide.
The two individuals visiting the Lubbock campus were:" Pisan Pongsapitch, a senior expert with Thailand's National Bureau of Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS). The organization was established in 2002 with the focus on agricultural commodity and food standardization. Pongsapitch is tasked with the establishment of national agricultural standards and participates in the international food standards under the joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Food Standards Program." Suree Wongpiyachon, director of Food and Water Sanitation Division with Thailand's Department of Health-Ministry of Public Health. The Food and Water Division is a technical division that provides technologies and strategies to ensure food safety and potable water quality control for Thailand. Wongpiyachon frequently works on national food safety policy, develops actions to strengthen, enhance, and meet international health standards. She promotes and develops the capacity and participation of the local government, community administration and the private sector in food sanitation and water quality control.
While in Lubbock the two officials participated in formal presentations by faculty members of Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and agricultural industry leaders. They also toured selected farms and agribusinesses, visit historical sites, and met with the university's leaders. Training topics included development of U.S. food labeling and standards policy, food safety from production to consumption, organic food management systems, consumer health protection, public health risk communication and food safety systems.
Written by Norman Martin
CONTACT: Michael Galyean, Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2808 or michael.galyean@ttu.edu
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