PSU food safety for small-scale dairy processors

Penn State to hold food safety courses for small-scale dairy processors in November

Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Extension will offer the “Dairy Basics: Fundamentals of Quality and Safety” workshop on Nov. 1, and the “Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls Workshop for Small-Scale Dairy Processors” on Nov. 2, at the Erickson Food Science Building on Penn State’s University Park campus.

These workshops — designed for small-scale dairy foods processors and entrepreneurs starting a value-added dairy foods business — are aimed at providing a fundamental background on manufacturing high-quality, safe dairy foods while meeting regulatory requirements.

Participants in the “Dairy Basics: Fundamentals of Quality and Safety” workshop will gain knowledge on the milk chemistry and microbiology aspects of raw milk that influence dairy foods quality and safety. This course covers the fundamental aspects that all dairy processors should know about good manufacturing practices, often referred to as GMPs, sanitation principles and practices, and writing sanitation operating procedures, sometimes called SSOPs, to ensure producing safe food. Participants will have an opportunity to write an SSOP during class activities.

Participants in the “Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls Workshop for Small-Scale Dairy Processors” course will learn about Food Safety Modernization Act regulations as they apply to small-scale processors. Other topics covered include dairy food hazards, conducting a hazard analysis and determining preventive controls as needed for processors that fall under the “exempt” qualification. Participants will have an opportunity to work on selected elements of a hazard analysis during class activities.

These one-day workshops can be taken individually or back-to-back. Participants wishing to take the Hazard Analysis course must come from companies with written GMPs and SSOPs and be familiar with them. If they do not meet this qualification, they can take the Dairy Basics workshop the day before as a two-day program.

Registration-fee discounts are available for early registration, for multiple people from the same company and for those signing up for both workshops. Agendas, travel information and online registration are available on the Dairy Basics and Hazard Analysis websites. People wishing to take both courses can register for both on the Dairy Basics website.

For general and registration information, contact the Conferences and Short Courses Office in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences at 877-865-8301 or csco@psu.edu. For questions regarding course content, contact Kerry Kaylegian, associate research professor in the Department of Food Science, at kek14@psu.edu.