UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Extension will offer the Dairy Basics: Fundamentals of Quality and Safety workshop, August 29, and the Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls Workshop for Small-Scale Dairy Processors, August 30, at the Erickson Food Science Building on Penn State’s University Park campus.
These workshops are designed for small-scale dairy foods processors and entrepreneurs starting a value-added dairy foods business to provide 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 of 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, sanitation principles and practices, and writing sanitation operating procedures to ensure producing safe food. Participants will have an opportunity to write a sanitation operating procedure during class activities.
Participants in the Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls Workshop for Small-Scale Dairy Processors will gain knowledge about the Food Safety Modernization Act regulations as they apply to small-scale processors, 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 good manufacturing practices and sanitation operating procedures and must 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.
The course offers discounts for early registration, for multiple people from the same company, and for participants taking both workshops. The agendas, travel information and online registration are available on the Dairy Basics website and Hazard Analysis website. People wishing to take both courses can register for both on the Dairy Basics website.
–Penn State Extension
