October 10, 2023
K-State to Offer Training on Safety of Acidified Foods
The Kansas Value Added Foods Lab is hosting a two-day online class to help food operators and manufacturers learn the correct procedures for producing thermally processed acidified foods.
The course, Better Process Control School for Acidified Foods, is an FDA recognized training. It is set for the mornings of November 2-3, and will be offered entirely online. Getty said the FDA requires food operations that produce acidified foods to complete this training.
Registration can be done online and is due by October 20 so that course materials can be sent to participants prior to the start of the November 2 class.
Karen Blakeslee, co-director of the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab, said the course will cover many topics, including the microbiology of food.
“Along with learning about food microbiology, you will learn more about what acidified foods are, and how to make sure you’re producing them safely,” Blakeslee said.
“We also cover the types of containers that are safe to use, and what we call closures, or lids. And we talk about record keeping, which is so important for anybody who's wanting to sell foods because if you happen to be involved in a recall of some sort -- or somebody gets sick -- you need to have the records to show when you made that product so that you can inform others.”
Post-training, Blakeslee said the Kansas Value Added Foods Lab offers several services to help businesses maintain the safety of their product, including ongoing pH testing (though some businesses are able to test that themselves.)
Other services offered through the lab include tests for water activity, microbial testing and nutrition labels. For a full list of services available to business owners, visit the lab’s website at https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/kvafl.