TABLE 4. 2015 Artisan Cheese Food Safety Forum Participant Responses to Questionnaire Questions Question What are your general impressions of the current status of the artisan cheese industry? What is your impression of the regulatory approaches discussed? Are there examples of approaches you agree or disagree with? What are your impressions of the cheese makers'/owners' perspective? Are there comments you agree or disagree with? Responsesa nb Lack of communication between regulators and producers; fear of regulators; uncertainty of regulation Need for more education about food safety/implement requirements for food safety education Growing industry Disconnect between producers and regulators; need for greater collaboration and positive discussion Regulatory approaches do not appear to be science-based; interpretation of science as it informs regulation is lacking Agreement with cheese makers; great panel; impressed Cheese makers/owners feel threatened; fear regulators and regulatory uncertainty Need for better communication and collaboration between cheese makers/owners and FDA 13 8 5 11 10 9 6 4 What are some positives and negatives of the current training and outreach discussed? What could be improved? Positives: Negatives: What are your impressions of the guides to best practices? How can they be best utilized? What types of research do you think are needed for the artisan cheese industry? What do you think of online training (including Webinars) and its role in artisan cheese education? Lots of resources available Need to be listed in single place Need for nationwide offerings Resources and programs are redundant Need to modify for producer size and scale Need to be widely available, advertised, cheap or free Great resource starting point Adopt as regulation Great for use as reference or benchmark/audit Could be used as core curriculum for training, need for training Need for routine updates over time More research on the safety of raw milk, cheese, pathogen growth and inhibition Validation of preventive controls for artisan cheese including traditional techniques Excellent resource, much needed Best if used as supplement to other offerings Great for limiting travel and expenses Interaction is still needed Better for scheduling and ability to take when time is available 10 15 6 5 5 11 10 8 6 5 5 10 6 22 10 7 4 4 (Continued on next page) 336 Food Protection Trends September/October