University Of Arkansas, Tyson Foods to Set Up

    Food-Safety Partnership

    by Dan Murphy on 5/31/00

 

    To further advance food safety throughout the manufacturing process,

    the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and Springdale, Ark.-based

    Tyson Foods, Inc. are creating a partnership called the Food Safety

    and Training and Education Initiative, according to a news release.

 

    The program will integrate coursework from academic institutions in

    food safety via streaming Internet video to students’ desktops, at their

    own convenience. The program will be the first of its kind to offer

    distance learning to food-safety professionals, officials of Tyson and the

    University of Arkansas said.

 

    The program includes two levels of study, the first offering certification

    in either HACCP System Management or Food Safety Systems

    Management, and second offering graduate level, university classes for

    certificate, undergraduate or graduate credits with completed degrees

    conferred by the University of Arkansas.

 

    Other participating academic institutions include North Carolina State

    University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, Kansas State

    University, New Mexico State University, and California State

    University.

 

    "Nobody has more at stake than we do in producing the highest quality

    products,” said John Copeland, Tyson's executive vice president of

    ethics, food safety and environmental compliance. “While we've always

    been at the forefront of food safety practices, at Tyson, we're very

    encouraged about this program because it will allow us to provide

    better training in a shorter time to more people than ever before."

 

    "The partnership with Tyson Foods is one more, highly significant step

    in the University of Arkansas' efforts to spur economic development in

    Arkansas through education and in concert with industry,” said Dr.

    Charles Scifres, dean of the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and

    Life Sciences and chairman of the university-industry Operations Board

    that sets the direction and format for the program. “We believe [that]

    harnessing the rich intellectual capacities of both the university and the

    industry and focusing it on solving real-world needs will serve as a

    powerful model for other ventures that focus on education of the state's

    work force using the most modern distance [learning] technologies."

 

    John A. White, chancellor of the University of Arkansas, said the

    program is yet another vital link in the University's mission.

 

    "We're very pleased to be an integral part of a program and partnership

    that will ultimately mean so much to the public," White said. "The

    research taking place at the University of Arkansas and the partnering

    institutions in the area of food safety is without a doubt of great benefit

    to the industry and overall Arkansas economy."

 

    "Consumers around the world have come to depend on the Tyson

    brand for trusted quality chicken,” added John Tyson, chairman,

    president and CEO of Tyson Foods. “Through our Food Wise program,

    we're emphasizing a totally integrated food-safety program from farm to

    table. While we've always had what we consider to be the best

    food-safety training in the industry, this partnership with the University

    of Arkansas has the potential to take it to a new and uncharted level."

 

    The first session of coursework is being conducted and produced this

    week. Online access is expected to be available by mid-summer.

 

    For more information, contact John Marcy, University of Arkansas, at

    (501) 575-2211 or Ed Nicholson, Tyson corporate public relations

    manager, at (501) 290-4591.