Penn State Extension Offers Short Course on Food Microbiology and Safety for Food Plant Workers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Professionals responsible for ensuring the safety of food products in food processing and manufacturing environments can receive training by attending Penn State’s Food Microbiology Short Course, May 13-15, at the Rodney A. Erickson Food Science Building on Penn State’s University Park campus.

Offered by Penn State Extension, the course is designed for food safety professionals, quality assurance and quality control personnel, sanitation and food production professionals and individuals involved in food microbiology testing.

Organizers noted that attendees can develop a detailed understanding of the methods used to isolate important spoilage microorganisms and foodborne pathogens. Through classroom and laboratory sessions, Penn State Extension specialists and food science faculty in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will cover the fundamentals of basic and applied food microbiology and food safety.

Among topics the course will address are:

• Recent developments of foodborne pathogens, toxins and contaminants that may occur in a food plant environment.
• Spoilage, pathogenic and beneficial microorganisms in the food industry.
• Basic and advanced microbiological techniques for isolating and quantifying microorganisms of public health concern.
• How to interpret laboratory results and decide what actions are needed to control the growth of a particular organism.
• Ecology of microorganisms and foodborne pathogens and the role of food microbiologists in ensuring safe food products.
• Detection, enumeration, isolation and identification of pathogens and/or their toxins, including E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, spoilage and mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxins.

The registration deadline for the course is May 6, and the deadline for discounted early registration is April 15. The registration fee includes tuition, course materials via electronic folder, laboratory fees, certificate of attendance and daily light breakfasts, refreshment breaks and lunches.

More information and online registration are available at https://agsci.psu.edu/foodmicro.