Cindy Roberts

1. Cindy Roberts Information Farmer Food Safety Web Specialists www.Foodsafetyweb.info foodsafetyweb@gmail.com 202-669-6951

2. What and Where is Information? • Web sites, newspapers, journals, trade and professional conferences, radio, TV, libraries, government reports, other organizations, domestic and overseas, Oprah • The big untapped resource – You and others like you. • Information is Power – think war, intelligence operations, lawyers, your work.

3. What We’ll See Today • Tools for communicating via the Internet • What is a listserve? • Advantages and disadvantages • Who, what, when, where, why, how of Foodsafe • Food Industry Environmental Network (FIEN) – a more targeted approach to information.

4. Types of Internet Communication • Newsletters – one-way communication • Listserves, Yahoo groups, etc. – asynchronous two-way communication • Chat – simultaneous two-way communication • Virtual communities – more targeted, can be asynchronous or simultaneous • Others – RSS feeds, MySpace and other social networking sites, Craig’s List and so on.

5. LISTSERVES • Two-way asynchronous communication between members of a group with something in common. • Advantage – lots of different views • Disadvantage – lots of different views

6. Foodsafe www.FoodSafetyWeb.info

7. Who are Foodsafers? • At any one time 1,800 – 2,000 subscribers (plus who they send to) • 57 counties • Top 10 – US, Canada, UK, Australia, Argentina, Spain, New Zealand, Greece, Japan, Turkey • Company subscribers – can confidently say is widest spectrum of those associated with food production from field to fork and everything in between.

8. Who Are Foodsafers? Of the approx. total of 1800 subscribers: • 248 have .gov addresses • 172 have .edu addresses • 7 gave .mil addresses • 94 have .org addresses • Everybody Else (71%) have a .com address * Many in the Everybody Else category may belong in another category, but use a .com email address.

9. How People Use Foodsafe • Daily readers • Answer seekers • Provocateurs • Theorists • What are they saying about us?

10. Words from Foodsafers • This is a great way to network and learn.  I am from a small town (pop. 18,000) so funding for training and attending seminars is very limited. Foodsafe provides additional training that has been greatly appreciated. • I would not know how to get such a wealth of information without Foodsafe. • Few of us that have contributed in the past will ever regret the time we spent helping others as we helped ourselves through this wonderful forum. • There is not a week goes by where I do not glean something useful from FOODSAFE. • One of my roles is to do environmental scanning of emerging issues; often information is posted of events that are beginning to unfold in other parts of the world or of new information on a food safety topic.  The advance notice from FOODSAFE allows me to investigate and pass information along to senior management before it becomes an issue in Canada.  • I do not know of another communications tool that provides feedback so quickly from so many experts in food safety. • I am particularly thankful to the experts from all over the world who regularly and generously give their opinions and advice. 

11. Posters vs. Lurkers • Vast majority of subscribers just listen or lurk • Only an average of 6% of subscribers post

12. From Public to Public to Private • Pre 1997. Started off as Food Proc in Washington State. Funded by USDA Cooperative Extension. Funding ran out. • 1997 – 2005. Moved to USDA National Agricultural Library’s Foodborne Illness Education Information Center and renamed Foodsafe. Funded by USDA and FDA. • 2005. Funding for Information Center cut. Cindy takes the list private.

13. Will Private Funding Work? ?

14. Marler Clark Silliker, Inc. Food Protection Report Food Safety Education Conference Food Safety Magazine Handwashing For Life New Zealand Food Safety Authority NSF International Server Products, Inc. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention EHS-Net Davis Fresh Technologies, LLC Food Safety Policy Center at Michigan State University Highfield.co.uk Ltd. Nobumasa (Nobi) Tanaka R.W. Powitz & Associates, P.C. Tom C. Ambrosia, CEC CFSM CFSP UNITEQ International Co. Ltd. Anonymous (3) NSF International Foodsafe Sponsors

15. So You Want to Start a Listserve • Lessons learned • Necessary to have • Lots of subscribers – need critical mass • Good software with tech support – spam filter, validity checking, auto subscribe and unsubscribe, archives • Good server - well over 500,000 messages per month • Someone who can spend a little time everyday • And a backup for that person

16. Food Industry Environmental Network, LLC (FIEN) • A regulatory and policy e-mail update service for the agriculture and food industry • A more targeted approach • Heavy filtering • 70 topics • A paid service - $600 to $2000 per year • Each message in an email • One-way communication • Who: Jack Cooper and Cindy Roberts

17. Agricultural Research Alcoholic Beverages Apple Artificial Sweeteners Bakery Products Biotechnology Bioterrorism and Chemical Weapons Composting Confectionery and Chocolate Dairy Disasters Drinking Water Employment Opportunities       Enforcement and Environmental Audits Environmental Education Environmental Systems Management and ISO 14000 Fats and Oils Fisheries Food Additives Food Allergens/Sensitivity Food Irradiation Food Labeling Food Packaging Food Quality, Food Product Development, Food Marketing Food Safety Fruits and Vegetables Grains Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) International Trade Meat and Poultry Mexico Issues Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Nanotechnology Nonhazardous Waste Nutrition Occupational Safety and Health Organic Food Pesticide Registration Pet Food Potato RFID Refrigerants Risk Assessment and Communication Soft Drinks FIEN Topic List

18. Thank You! • Foodsafe • www.FoodSafetyWeb.info • Food Industry Environmental Network (FIEN) • www.Fien.com