September 9, 2003

 

Acidified Foods Workshops for Small Processors Set for Fargo and Bismarck

The Food and Drug Administration and area Extension Service offices will host hands-on training workshops on acidified foods. The workshops are designed to provide current and future small processors with the basic elements needed to understand the main processing steps, FDA regulations, critical control points and record keeping to safely manufacture specialty foods for the marketplace.

The workshops will be held Oct. 21 in Fargo at the Cass County office of the North Dakota State University Extension Service and Oct. 22 in Bismarck at Capital Electric Cooperative. Contact Julie Garden-Robinson at (701) 231-7187 or jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu  to register. A registration fee of $40 includes course materials and two refreshment breaks.

Food manufacturers, small-scale processors of specialty foods, farmers interested in value-added processing or anyone interested in starting a small-scale food manufacturing business should attend. The trainings, with instruction from FDA National Experts and Extension professionals, will provide both technical information and practical training by demonstrating the production of pickled foods. Course attendees will have access to equipment to test the pH of their product.

"This testing is important because just one food safety problem resulting from noncompliance could have ramifications for all the state's food processors," says Julie Garden-Robinson, food and nutrition specialist with the NDSU Extension Service.

Dressings, sauces, marinades, and similar food products depend on their acidity to prevent spoilage. They may consist of naturally acid foods, such as fruit juice or tomatoes, or they may be formulated by combining acid foods with other foods to achieve the desired acidity. Some foods, such as vinegar and certain pickled vegetables, may develop acidity from microbial fermentation.

Because foods without adequate acidity may allow the growth of microorganisms that cause foodborne illness, the FDA requires that all acidified foods be tested to determine pH level and water activity, which is the amount of moisture available to support bacterial growth.

Amy Johnson, Public Affairs Specialist at the FDA’s Minneapolis District Office, stresses the importance of these workshops. "Some small processors may not be meeting FDA testing requirements or have the necessary food safety training due to high costs of product testing and training," Johnson says. "Our ability to partner with local Extension experts to provide low-cost and informative training to small food processors is critical to preventing future foodborne illness outbreaks." The trainings are funded by a food safety education grant from FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition

Additional workshops in the region include:

• Minnesota: Oct. 6 in Minneapolis and Oct. 8 in St. Cloud. Contact Joellen Feirtage at (612) 624-3629 or jfeirtag@umn.edu  to register. A registration fee includes course materials and two refreshment breaks.
• South Dakota: Oct. 17 at the Minnehaha Extension Office in Sioux Falls. Contact Joan Hegerfeld at (605) 688-6233 or HEGERFELD.JOAN@ces.sdstate.edu  to register. A registration fee includes course materials and two refreshment breaks.

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Sources: Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu,  and Amy Johnson, (612) 758-7131.
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu