Managing Risk for Food Businesses

University of Maryland and Penn State Extension to Offer Food Business Risk Management Class

Because consumers have grown more concerned about how their food was grown and processed, every food business owner (and every farmer who is selling products directly to the public) needs to understand the ways that he or she can lessen the liability associated with placing food products in the marketplace.

To respond to this need, Penn State Extension, in collaboration with the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center and University of Maryland Extension, is offering a one-day class, Managing Risk for Food Businesses, at the Maryland Agriculture Resource Center, 1114 Shawan Road, Cockeysville, Maryland 21030, on Tuesday, May 12^th. The primary instructor will be Winfred McGee, Penn State Business Management Educator. The session will run from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and will combine educational presentations, discussions with successful food entrepreneurs, and a highly interactive learning environment, to address the following topics:

• Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)/ Good Handling Practices- general procedures that producers and packers of farm-fresh products should follow to ensure food safety of their product—especially for products sold to large, national customers.
• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Planning - Steps or procedures to eliminate or reduce hazards associated with food production – learning what the producer or his/her co-packer should monitor for food safety
• Liability Insurance - The amount of coverage that is warranted and what purpose it will serve in protecting farm assets—learning from the experiences of those well and poorly insure captured in case studies
• Allergen Warnings - Complying with FDA regulations that food labels must state clearly if food products contain any ingredients that contain protein derived from the eight major allergenic foods.
• Pro-active Recall Processes—Coding batches and keeping accurate records so that the entire product line need not be recalled in an emergency.

Registration for Managing Risk for Food Businesses, is $40.00 (includes lunch and all handouts,) payable by credit card or personal check. Please register by going to:

http://managingriskforfoodbusinesses.eventbrite.com

Funding for this project was provided by the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education, the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and North East Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education. The Pennsylvania State University is an equal opportunity employer.