Microbiological Testing: A Hands-On Food Safety Course is a career-building training opportunity. It’s offered exclusively for dairy industry professionals with food safety responsibilities, including those working in quality assurance and control, sanitation, maintenance, operations and more.
The course was developed by IDFA and Chestnut Labs to provide skills and tools for dairy plant professionals with responsibility for ensuring food safety.
The lab setting lets participants see how the learning objectives are put into practice, making this a unique education experience. The course offers participants the opportunity for growth within their companies and their fields.
Participants will learn:
- Proper plating, reading and interpretation of common indicator microorganisms through hands-on application with expert instruction
- How to prevent common mistakes in microbiological testing
- How to create and interpret product specifications, including how to choose the correct test methods and sampling plans
- How to assist with the design, implementation and ongoing operation of a pathogen environmental sampling program, including root cause and corrective action, and the best testing methodologies to perform based on product type and sanitizer use within the facility
- How to perform internal laboratory audits, including the proper evaluation of equipment calibrations, good laboratory practices and lab design
- How to control pathogens of significance in the dairy industry
- How the pending FDA Food Safety Modernization Act requirements will affect your organization and how to be better prepared for FDA inspection