The University of Georgia will host a specially-designed training short course for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) May 19-21 in Athens, Ga.  The short course, co-sponsored by United Fresh, is tailored to the fresh-cut industry and is accredited by the International HACCP Alliance. The program aims to provide attendees with the skills and knowledge to design, implement, document and maintain HACCP within the fresh-cut business model. The program will provide a unique program of lectures and work group discussions from a broad-based faculty of food microbiologists, HACCP experts and authorities from academia, industry and government. Breakout work group sessions will provide interaction with HACCP authorities who have developed and implemented successful HACCP programs in fresh-cut processing plants.

As fresh produce moves from the field through the processing plant to the table, three sources of contamination - microbial, chemical and physical - may pose a health hazard. HACCP is a practical, systematic management tool designed to ensure food safety and developed to identify and control any of these hazards from entering the handling process, and to document the safety of fresh-cut produce. At the course, attendees will learn which microbial testing tools to use to document and verify your sanitation program, how to interpret microbial results and which standardized procedures are best for consistent microbial analysis in testing fresh-cut produce.

Registration, which is required for the course, is $550 before April 27 and $600 before the May 8 registration deadline. United Fresh members receive discounted registration. Lodging and meals are not included. A registration brochure can be downloaded here. For more information, call 706-542-2574 or email efs@uga.edu.