UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will offer two food safety workshops for food service professionals on consecutive days in May.

"Managing Risks to Ensure Safe Food Service Operations: Implementing a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) System into Food Service Operations" will be held May 21-22 at Cafe Laura in the Mateer Building on the University Park campus. "Penn State Food Safety Instructor Training Workshop: Instructor Development Training to Assist Individuals Delivering Food Safety Certification Programs" will take place May 23 at the Atherton Hotel in State College.

Sponsored by Penn State's food science department, the workshops will teach effective food safety instruction techniques and enhance training and motivation skills. The series is intended for anyone responsible for safe food handling in restaurants, schools, institutions, supermarkets, churches, fire companies, community centers, child care centers, recreational facilities and other food concessions.

"The safety techniques necessary for cooking large quantities of food differ from those used in home kitchens," says Dana McElroy, Penn State food safety specialist. "Many people that come to our courses have been cooking for and serving the public for 10, 20 and sometimes even 30 years, but they're amazed at how much they learn about cooling, cooking, personal hygiene, cross-contamination and sanitation. The separate workshops allow some flexibility for the participants. Depending on their schedule, they may choose to attend one or both workshops."

"Managing Risks to Ensure Safe Food Service Operations" opens at 8 a.m. on Monday with a session titled "History of HACCP," followed by "Process Control and Demonstrations," "Principles of HACCP" and "Developing HACCP Plans." During Tuesday's sessions, participants will learn to develop HACCP plans for critical processes and will tour local food service facilities.

McElroy explains that understanding HACCP is important for any food service professional, since health agencies advocate the system as the best "farm-to-table" means of improving food safety.

"Attending a HACCP workshop allows those in charge of preparing or serving food to identify and modify the techniques they use in their facility and create a food safety system around these techniques," she says. "When the HACCP system is followed, food moves safely through receiving, storage, preparation, holding, service and reheating."

The "Penn State Food Safety Instructor Training Workshop" begins at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday with a "train the trainer" session dedicated to improving presentation skills, mastering special resources for teaching adult learners and reviewing a display of food safety information materials. After lunch, a session on developing presentation skills will teach trainers to develop content, use instructional design techniques and assemble presentations. That will be followed by a session on multilingual and multicultural training techniques and incentives for marketing a food safety program.

To request registration materials and a detailed schedule, call 814-865-8301, or visit the Conferences and Short Courses World Wide Web site at http://conferences.cas.psu.edu/. For more information on conference content, call Dana McElroy at 814-865-0640.

The registration fee of $145 for "Managing Risks in Food Service Operation" covers handouts, examinations and beverage breaks. Enrollment is limited to individuals who have completed "ServSafe" food safety certification training or an equivalent program. Registration is limited to the first 40 qualified applicants.

The registration fee of $85 for "Penn State Food Safety Instructor Training Workshop" covers instruction, course materials, breaks and lunches. The fax and mail registration deadline for both conferences is May 4. Walk-in registrations will be accepted as space allows.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Atherton Hotel in State College at a rate of $68 plus tax per night for a single room or $78 plus tax per night for a double room. Attendees can reserve a special-rate room by calling (800) 832-0132 before April 20 and indicating that they are attending the Penn State Food Safety Program.

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EDITORS: For more information, contact Dana McElroy at 814-865-0640.

Contacts: Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-865-1068 fax