MU Extension hosts acidified foods workshop, March 28-29 in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension will host a workshop for processors of acidified foods such as salsa and pickles, March 28-29 in Kansas City.

The two-day workshop meets FDA training requirements for those wanting to sell acidified, shelf-stable canned foods, said Londa Nwadike, MU Extension consumer food safety state specialist. Out-of-state participants are welcome, she said.

Teaching the workshop will be Andrew Clarke, associate professor of food science at MU; William McGlynn, horticulture products processing specialist at Oklahoma State; and Steve Seideman, extension food processing specialist at the University of Arkansas.

Topics will include FDA regulations, principles of thermal processing, food plant sanitation and microbiology. Upon successful completion of the workshop, participants will receive a certificate that can be used to verify training for FDA or Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services records.

The workshop will be held at Kansas City office of MU Extension in Jackson County, 105 E. Fifth St., across the street from the City Market.

Registration is $450 for the first person from a company and $350 for each additional participant from the same company. The fee covers educational materials, exams, a food safety textbook, refreshments and a laboratory analysis of pH and water activity for one product per participant.

To register, send contact information (name, company, address, phone number and email address) to [email protected]. Checks should be payable to the University of Missouri and mailed to Celeste Tilley, MU Extension in Jackson County, 105 E. 5th St., Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64106.

For more information, contact Nwadike at 816-482-5854. Registration deadline is March 14.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture is offering a limited number of $225 scholarships to AgriMissouri members. Additional information and a scholarship application are available at http://foodscience.missouri.edu/afw/.

The workshop was designed as a Better Process Control School to meet FDA regulations on acidified foods (21 CFR Part 114).