Alaska Seafood School leads class on safe processing and packaging
A group of Alaska seafood professionals recently completed training from Alaska Sea Grant covering acidified food production and the principles of thermal processing. The Better Process Control School was a course developed to satisfy the U.S. Food and Drug Administration training requirements and provides safety information important for home canners, quality assurance technicians, and personnel in plants who pack and process both low acid foods and acidified foods in sealed containers.
The course gave an overview of equipment requirements, container closure and evaluation, and record-keeping for glass jars and cans. The three-day course was taught in Anchorage by Chris Sannito, a seafood technology specialist with Alaska Sea Grant, and Dr. Scott Whiteside, a professor with the Department of Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences at Clemson University. Both are registered food process authorities for validating equipment process and product safety.
Class capacity, similar to other training from the Alaska Seafood School, is limited in size to allow professional trainees the opportunity to ask questions and discuss nuanced topics, from canning deformities to issues with heating sealed packages and labeling. “Our Alaska Seafood School training is taught by top industry experts in Alaska and from around the country,” noted Caleb Taylor, Alaska Sea Grant seafood workforce development coordinator. “It’s through support by Alaska’s Technical and Vocational Education Program, combined with multilateral partnerships from industry, academia, and communities, that we’re able to provide this specialized training – for the benefit of our great state’s seafood industry.”
Alaska Sea Grant plans to host another Better Process Control School this winter. If you are interested in arranging training for you or your business, or to receive notifications for upcoming seafood processing workshops and classes, please contact Caleb Taylor at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center.