The Office of Training Education and Training – Your Trusted Training Partner for Retail and Milk
Registering to Attend FDA Retail and Milk Courses for FY25
FDA Cooperative Programs (Retail & Milk) Web and Classroom Courses
Obtaining Web Accounts and Classroom Registration Procedures for FY25
Target Audience: Federal agencies, Department of Defense (DoD), state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) cooperative program regulators interested in enhancing general food safety related skills.
At a Glance
The FDA Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII), Office of Training, Education, and Development (OTED) provides free, quality training to Department of Defense (DoD), state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) cooperative program regulators. Through this partnership, not only does OTED provide an enriching learning experience for participants to meet critical training competencies, but also supports an Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS).
New Registration Procedures – Request Courses in LearnED
OTED has implemented a new registration process for Retail and Milk/Dairy cooperative program courses. These courses are free to attend without any registration fees. Travel expenses are incurred for in-person classroom courses. Please see below for more details on FY25 updates and our new course request process.
Changes to Contact Emails
Please note that, due to the FDA reorganization, many offices have had their official names changed. OTED now reports to the Office of Inspections and Investigations (formerly Office of Regulatory Affairs). Contact emails will change, effective October 15, 2024, to:
- Retail Food Training: OII-OTED-Retail@fda.hhs.gov
- Milk/Dairy Training: OIIOTEDMilk@fda.hhs.gov
Important Information
Review the classroom course schedule on the OII LearnED System website. Additional courses may be added throughout fiscal year. Visit the OII LearnED System website regularly for course schedules and updates.
When requesting registrations for all Cooperative Program courses (retail, milk, and shellfish), three (3) slots per course per agency will be permitted. This will maximize access for all state, local, tribal, and territorial partners. Agencies can submit additional registrations for any given course session. Those participants will be placed on the course waitlist and offered seats as course slots become available. OTED reserves the right to adjust slot allocations for in-person courses.
Transcripts can be viewed by logging into the OII LearnED System and selecting “Learning” at the top of the screen, then “View your transcript”.
When viewing your transcript, the default view will show active courses in which you are currently enrolled. Select “Completed” in the drop-down box to view all completed courses.
There are over 100 food safety related online courses with free access for SLTT regulators (see the partial list at the bottom of this page). These courses may be used to satisfy Standard 2 Training requirements of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards and meet course prerequisites.
When searching for a course on LearnED, it is important to search by course number/course ID or to verify the target audience. Many modules have overlapping topics but may be geared towards specific commodities.
Additional courses may be added throughout fiscal year. Visit the OII LearnED System website regularly for course schedules and updates.
All course prerequisites must be completed prior to the registration deadline. In some cases, the LearnED system will not allow you to request registration until all pre-requisites are complete. Prerequisite verification will take place shortly after the registration deadline.
Transcripts can be viewed by logging into: LearnED at https://fdaoted.csod.com/login/render.aspx?id=defaultclp and selecting “Learning” at the top of the screen, then “View your transcript”.
Need an OII LearnED account? Visit the Request an OII LearnED Training System Account page to register.
Need help? Email APPSDesk@fda.hhs.gov for assistance with OII LearnED.
Beginning on or after October 1, 2024, OTED’s human and animal food courses will no longer use the Microbiological Series (MIC01-15), previously found in the ComplianceWire Learning Management System.
As a result, replacement modules have been identified and prerequisites have been updated for many courses. The new prerequisite modules meet the objectives of the respective courses and are aligned with the National Curriculum Standards and Standard 2. Please be sure to check the latest course announcements or LearnED for details.
The following substitutions have been made:
- CC8028W Biological Hazards replaced the following courses:
- MIC01 Food Micro Control 1: Overview of Microbiology
- MIC04 Food Micro Control 3: Foodborne Viruses
- MIC05 Food Micro Control 4: Foodborne Parasites
- MIC06 Food Micro Control 5: Controlling Growth Factors
- MIC07 Food Micro Control 6: Control by Refrigeration and Freezing
- MIC12 Food Micro Control 9: Natural Toxins
- CC9013W Control by Thermal Processing replaced:
- MIC08 Food Micro Control 7A: Control by Thermal Processing
- CC8002W Pasteurization replaced:
- MIC09 Food Micro Control 7B: Control by Pasteurization
- CC9016W Technology-based Food Processes replaced:
- MIC11 Food Micro Control 8: Technology-based Food Processes
* FD152 can also be used in place of these modules
- MIC11 Food Micro Control 8: Technology-based Food Processes
- CC8035W Sampling replaced:
- MIC13 Food Micro Control 10: Aseptic Sampling
- FD190W100 Introduction to Food Current GMP Curriculum replaced:
- MIC14 Food Micro Control 11: Good Manufacturing Practices
- CC8032W Sanitation Practices replaced:
- MIC15 Food Micro Control 12: Cleaning and Sanitizing
In order to provide a streamlined learner experience, OTED will house learning modules in the OII LearnED Learning Management System. ComplianceWire courses will not be used after September 2024. Appendix B-1 has been updated to reflect this change. Please access the latest version here:
Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards Appendix B-1
The Grade "A" Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) helps to ensure that Grade “A" milk and dairy products produced in the United States are among the safest in our nation, and the world. The digital version of the updated 2023 edition can be found here:
National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) Model Documents
Beginning October 1, 2024, OTED will no longer develop and deliver the Milk Laboratory LEO courses. Please contact the FDA Laboratory Proficiency and Evaluation Team for more information. Affected courses are:
- FD373: State Milk Laboratory Evaluation Officer (LEO) Course
- FD374: Laboratory Examination of Dairy Products
To minimize confusion and streamline learning, OTED online courses and instructor-led course schedules will now be found in the OII LearnED System. Courses will not use any modules in ComplianceWire after September 2024.
Instructor-Led Courses (Virtual and In-Person)
The Office of Training, Education and Development offers a wide variety of courses to meet the development needs of regulatory staff. Below you will find a listing of current Retail and Milk instructor-led courses. The course numbers are hyperlinked to OTED’s learning management system (LMS), LearnED, where the current course descriptions, prerequisites, dates and locations can be found.
*Note: You must be logged into LearnED to access the course hyperlinks below.
Instructor-Led Courses (Virtual and In-Person)
Beginning with courses commencing on or after October 1, 2024, the Office of Training, Education and Development will no longer use the Student Registration PDF form (formerly Attachment A) for courses. In an effort to provide a more streamlined process, course enrollment requests will be processed using the LearnED system.
As we navigate this change, please keep the following in mind:
- Follow the guidance in the course announcement on how to self-register. This process will not be using the Enrollment Request form used for Manufactured Food courses.
- Each student must request enrollment to a course via their individual LearnED account.
- Review the classroom course schedule on the OII LearnED website. See hyperlinks above to access specific course information. Note: You must be logged into LearnED to access the course hyperlinks below.
Course Enrollment Request Process
- Course Announcement
Courses will be activated to accept enrollment requests once the Course Announcement is issued. Though you will be able to see scheduled course sessions prior to Course Announcement distribution, the request function will not be available. We make every attempt to make course announcements available at least 12 weeks prior to a course. - Requesting a Course
First, login to OII LearnED, then click the link provided in the course announcement. When the link is accessed, the student will need to select the desired session date and click on the blue “Request” button on the lower right.Note: Program managers and training liaisons will no longer be able to complete an enrollment request on the student’s behalf.
Request submissions do not automatically register the student for the course. The Training Specialist will need to review the request, then communicate approval.
The expectation is that all individuals submitting an enrollment request have supervisory approval. Individuals must submit the enrollment request by the registration deadline to be considered.
All course prerequisites must be completed prior to submitting a registration request. The LearnED system will not allow you to request registration until all pre-requisites are complete.
You must click on a session date, then click request. If you do not choose a date and click request on the overall course, this will not request a session.
- Notification of Acceptance
Notification of acceptance to the course will be issued by approximately one (1) week after the registration deadline to those participants approved to take the course. At times, participants may receive notification earlier. - Notification of Waitlist and Non-Acceptances
Approximately one (1) week after the registration deadline, waitlisted course participants and those who were not accepted will be notified of their status. Waitlisted individuals will receive notification if they clear the waitlist. - Cancellations
In the event OTED must cancel a course, notifications will be sent by email as soon as possible.
Should you need to cancel your registration, please notify the Training/Project Officer listed on the Course Announcement with a “cc” to the program mailbox. In the subject line, please state:
Cancellation/Course ID and Title/Course City and State/Course Month and Year
Example:
Cancellation/FD215 Managing Retail Food Safety/vILT/October 2022
Please include the names of the individual(s) withdrawing from the course. The slot will not be reserved for an individual from the affected agency or organization.
Program mailboxes:- Retail Food Training: OII-OTED-Retail@fda.hhs.gov
- Milk/Dairy Training: OIIOTEDMilk@fda.hhs.gov