About

This virtual course consists of four 4.5-hour sessions and will have activities and exercises.
This course develops the skills needed to define the problem, collect data, determine the “why” of the violation or outbreak, and identify solutions by applying the concepts of root cause analysis to reduce risk factor violation occurrence and enhance foodborne illness outbreak investigations.

Root Cause Analysis is a critical part of the food safety problem solving process. This analytical process breaks down the system into its components enabling an understanding of the effect of each component on others and/or the system. Root cause analysis techniques assist in identifying possible causes and determining actual causes.

Course Objectives:

• Enhance problem-solving effectiveness by providing a model for analyzing problem situations more deeply (e.g., foodborne illness outbreaks)
• Clarify the difference between analytical and creative thinking, and when each is most useful
• Promote the ability to provide problem-solving support in situations where one is not an expert in the process or technology involved
• Expand the range of tools available for analysis of problems