In Switzerland, food and consumer products are tested and inspected according to internationally recognized methods to assess risks. To train the cantonal authorities to conduct these tasks, the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office offers a further education program. In 2020, this program, including its responsibility, coordination, organization and curriculum, was restructured and aligned with similar training courses for official veterinarians. After three years of implementation of the revised program, the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) mandated SAFOSO to conduct an evaluation to identify any potential areas for further improvement.
Our work consisted of collecting information from multiple stakeholders, including trainees, trainers, and heads of cantonal competent authorities, among others. For this purpose interviews, online surveys, and a workshop were conducted. The information collected was analyzed and summarized in a report. Overall, the results indicated a largely high level of satisfaction with the revised education program among all stakeholders, but also identified a few areas where further refinements were needed. Based on these findings, we formulated recommendations that act as a basis for continued discussions between the FSVO and the cantonal authorities on the revision of the organization of the education program.
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