Workshop 2 - Selecting and Validating Pathogen Reduction Processes for Low-Moisture Foods and Ingredients

Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13, 2024 (8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)

Workshop Registration Fees

  • Members $800.00
  • Non-Members $900.00
  • Late-fee $75.00

Register Now

 Late Rate Effective June 18, 2024.

Workshop rates are available for IAFP students upon request. 

IAFP Workshop Cancellation Policy:  Registration fees, less a $100 administration fee and any
applicable bank charges, will be refunded for written cancellations received by June 27, 2024.  No
refunds will be made after June 27, however, the registration may be transferred to a colleague
who is NOT currently registered with written notification.  Registrations cannot be carried to any
future meetings.

Photo Policy:  We occasionally use photographs of attendees in our promotional material.  By
attending, you agree to such usage.

Other:  Any modifications to payment method will incur a $25 processing fee.

Refunds will be processed when received.

Workshop Description

The Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls Rule requires validation of processes to adequately reduce pathogens in many low-moisture food products. Few programs prepare individuals to deal with the unique challenges associated with low-moisture food validations. Individuals assigned these responsibilities often lack experience in selection, evaluation, and assessment of the range of traditional and specialized processing options that are available for these foods.

General process validation training typically has significant gaps, relative to unique attributes of low-moisture foods, in terms of both engineering and microbiological principles. This workshop is designed to fill these gaps. Experts from academia, government, and industry will lead participants through a systematic approach to selecting, and then preparing for, designing, and carrying out a low-moisture process validation. The workshop will include interactive/hands-on case studies. 

Upon completion of this workshop, participants should be able to: describe regulatory expectations, explain critical factors affecting the resistance of Salmonella (or other pathogens) to lethal treatments, outline a general process for conducting low-moisture pasteurization validations, identify key variables to measure/control/report, and evaluate process efficacy based on the use of non-pathogenic surrogate data and/or inactivation models.

Previous workshops (IAFP 2017, 2019) received excellent feedback from participants (>4.5/5.0 for all quality indicators). In a 1-year-post-workshop survey, attendees (86.7%) rated this workshop as “more impactful” or “much more impactful” than similar workshops they had attended. The 2017 workshop was 1-day; most participants thought this was too short. In 2019, the workshop was expanded to 1.5 days. We subsequently received requests to include additional topics on process selection and considerations of downstream handling (e.g., customers and consumers). These additional perspectives have expanded the agenda to 2 days.

Important new research in the area, continuing technological developments, and an expanded range of low moisture foods and ingredients should make this workshop timely and in high demand. The workshop organizers will work with a range of low-moisture product stakeholder groups to promote this workshop. 

Who Should Attend

Any professional responsible for pasteurization processes for low-moisture products, including process authorities, food processors, food scientists, regulators, equipment suppliers, academic researchers, and university students.

Workshop Instructors

  • Nathan Anderson, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bedford Park, IL, USA
  • Teresa Bergholz, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
  • Yaohua (Betty) Feng, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
  • Elizabeth Grasso-Kelley, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bedford Park, IL, USA
  • Ian Hildebrandt, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
  • Bradley Marks, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
  • Juliany Rivera Calo, Ardent Mills, Denver, CO, USA

Workshop Organizers

  • Elizabeth Grasso-Kelley, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bedford Park, IL, USA
  • Linda J. Harris, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
  • Bradley Marks, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA