National Center for Food Safety and Technology
Juice HACCP Alliance holds first official trainer courses
CHICAGO, March 12, 2001- The National Center's Juice HACCP Alliance is holding the only train-the-trainer courses developed with support of the Food and Drug Administration.
HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is a guiding concept for addressing product safety concerns in food processing operations. Responding to outbreaks of illness traced to bacteria in refrigerated juice, the FDA announced last year that juice companies would have to adopt HACCP plans in one to three years, depending on company size.
The Juice HACCP Alliance is the sole developer of the standardized training
curriculum.
The FDA requires anyone who develops a juice HACCP plan to be a HACCP-trained
individual working from a recognized "standardized training curriculum"
or its equivalent.
While other groups are free to develop their own juice HACCP training programs, "At the end of the day their training curriculum will have to conform to the standard that we've developed," says the National Center's Dr. Peter Slade, chair of the Juice HACCP Alliance.
The first train-the-trainer course was held recently in Orlando, Fla. National Center scientists and Juice HACCP Alliance members plan to hold more courses in major citrus and apple regions around the country. Participants are expected to include industry trainers, state and federal inspectors, academic experts and trade association representatives.
The Juice HACCP Alliance includes members from industry, academia and regulatory agencies. Allen Sayler of the International Dairy Foods Association, which helps to train workers of dairies that co-process juice, says he has been pleased with the Alliance's work: "The main value is that you allow input by all the parties affected. When we're allowed to participate alongside the regulators and academia, the end product is a better product."
The National Center is the one place where scientists from industry, government and academia collaborate to improve the safety of the food supply. Besides academic host Illinois Institute of Technology, the consortium consists of over 70 companies, the Food and Drug Administration, IIT Research Institute and the University of Illinois.
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