Point of View
February 2007

“To be a continual learner, you have to work hard at it"
by Frank Yiannas, IAFP President        

If someone were to ask you if you are committed to continual learning, what would your answer be? I suspect that many would quickly answer yes. But upon a critical and candid self-examination, would you really pass the test?

When it comes to food safety, staying focused on the traditional basics – such as time/temperature controls for safety, sanitation principles, and personal hygiene – are absolutely critical. But if you consider some of the more recent food safety concerns of our day – such as food defense, mad cow disease, and produce safety – you’ll see why it’s important to stay informed and continue to learn.

Sure, I know you can’t become an expert in all specialized areas of food safety. However, I do believe that having a grasp of the relevant food safety issues of our day is important and it makes you a better overall food safety professional.

Let me summarize four points, which I believe are essential in order to be a continual learner in food safety.

1. To be a continual learner, you have to work hard at it. Let’s face it, we live in a fast-paced, action-oriented world and because we are focused on getting things done, many of us do not make the time to learn something new and stay informed. In fact, it’s not uncommon for some to subscribe to scientific journals and not make the time to read them. We’re so focused on getting things done that we keep “to do” lists. However, do you keep a similar list of things you want to learn? Learning something new requires effort and it
begins with setting specific learning objectives. Do you have any new food safety learning goals established for 2007?

2. To be a continual learner, you have to be open-minded and, at times, be willing to unlearn what you already know. In this era of rapid change, new scientific facts are being discovered at an unprecedented rate. As a food safety professional, are you hanging onto old principles that have been disproved by the latest science? For example, for much of my career, I would read articles and hear other professionals state that the number one contributing factor of food- borne disease in food-service establishments was the improper cooling of foods. In fact, I occasionally still hear this claim made today. However, with better epidemiology and more detailed foodborne out-break data collection, we now know that this statement is no longer true (at least not in the United States). I came across a quote by Dee Hock that summarizes this point quite well. He said, “The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a room packed with archaic furniture. You must get the old furniture of what you know, think, and believe out before anything new can get in.”

3. To be a continual learner, you have to be willing to change. Simply put, continual learning is about continual change. Sometimes, it requires change from within. If asked, how have you or your team changed for the better within the past year in regards to food safety performance, do you have one or two examples that quickly come to mind? If you don’t, then you are not making progress. Progress is impossible without change.

• To be a continual learner, you have to take action. If you are learning new food safety facts simply because you find it to be intellectually satisfying, then may I suggest that you really don’t understand what learning is all about? All learning should be about action. Now, I know some might think that their area of focus or research is not really actionable, because it’s not an applied science. Let me remind you of wise words from Louis Pasteur who said, “There are no such things as applied sciences, only applications of science.” Continual learners don’t let their learning lead to knowledge; they let their learning lead to action.

If you are truly committed to continual learning in the area of food safety, I encourage you to start making plans now to attend the IAFP 2007 Annual Meeting at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida on July 8–11. You’ll be joined by colleagues and friends from all over the world. Together, we’ll learn from one another as we work to advance food safety worldwide.

As usual, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please let me know. You can e-mail me at frank.yiannas@disney.com. Until next month, thanks for reading.