Rutgers Food Innovation Center Partners with NSF International to offer Food Safety Training Series

NSF International’s Center for Public Health Education has announced a partnership with the Rutgers Food Innovation Center that will provide new food safety training courses to food businesses.

The series of courses will provide educational training relevant for established food companies seeking to upgrade quality assurance systems, enter new markets and expand and improve their operations; startup food companies wishing to adopt best practices in their operations; and also retail and food service establishments seeking to better understand the food safety practices of their suppliers.

“Food safety will continue to be of national significance in 2008 and beyond,” said Lou Cooperhouse, director of the Rutgers Food Innovation Center. “Retail and foodservice customers of food and agricultural products are increasingly demanding that quality assurance standards and systems be in place, and that technologies be incorporated in products to enhance their overall safety and quality. New standards are being adopted in the marketplace, such as the Safe Quality Food (SQF) system, and we wanted to be sure that food businesses in the New Jersey region can be among the first to recognize, and potentially adopt, such standards of quality.”

The courses offered include:

• HACCP Manager Certification (May 13-14) — In this seminar, participants will learn the seven principles of Codex HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), how they relate to prerequisite programs, and how to write HACCP Plans and implement HACCP in food processing, distribution and preparation environments. For more details and to register, click here.
  
• Implementing and Auditing Safe Quality Food (SQF) Systems (June 4-6) — In this seminar, participants will gain detailed knowledge and understanding of the SQF codes. They are required for those individuals who wish to become SQF Experts and/or Auditors. For more details and to register, click here.
  
• Preparing for a Third-Party Audit, and Food Defense/Product Security (July 15-16) — In this seminar, participants will learn to prepare for a NSF third-party Cook & Thurber audit, and review the 2008 NSF Cook & Thurber Expectations Manuals, procedures and terminology, the corrective action process, and other items that will enhance the benefits of the audit process. In addition, participants will gain from the NSF Food Defense/Product Security class, which is designed for food safety managers and risk managers working to integrate product security programs into existing food safety programs. For more details and to register, click here.

All courses will be offered at the Rutgers EcoComplex facility in Bordentown, N.J. They will be taught by skilled professionals with a deep understanding in their respective industries.

“We are thrilled to announce this new partnership with the Rutgers Food Innovation Center,” said NSF Vice President Bob Ferguson. “The new training series will provide participants the latest information in food safety advancements as well as legislation.”

For additional information on these courses, please visit www.nsf.org/cphe or call the Center for Public Health Education at 800/NSF-MARK, ext. 5600.