15th Microbial Challenge Testing for Foods
Registration and hotel reservations opening soon!
| Registration Type | Early Rate | Late Rate |
| Member | $715 | $815 |
| NonMember | $915 | $1,015 |
Late rates effective March 5, 2025
Cancellation Policy: Registration fees, less a $100 administration fee and any applicable bank
charges, will be refunded for written cancellations received by March 5, 2025. No refunds will be
made after March 5, however, the registration may be transferred to a non-registered colleague
with written notification. Registration fees cannot be applied to future meetings. Refunds will be
processed when received.
15th Microbial Challenge Testing for Foods Workshop
April 2-3, 2025
Hilton Garden Inn - O'Hare Airport
Des Plaines, IL
Hotel rates are $125/night.
Hotel rates end March 15, 2025
The food industry routinely uses challenge testing to determine whether foods require time/temperature control for safety, are suitably formulated or have valid lethality processes. When laboratory testing is used to support a change in how the product is handled in a food establishment (e.g., refrigerated to unrefrigerated holding, extending shelf-life, increasing ambient temperature storage or eliminating the need to date marking), the data are submitted to a state or local regulatory agency or directly to the FDA in the form of a variance application for approval. Food establishments or manufacturers submitting laboratory data to support their proposals must ensure the study is appropriate for the food and pathogen of concern and incorporate the necessary elements into the study to yield a valid design and conclusion. Because of the many questions raised by regulatory and industry professionals about the appropriate use of challenge studies, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) was asked to provide guidance on the topic of challenge studies and their use. This workshop will present the NACMCF report and instructors will guide the students through use of the material in the report to develop actual challenge study protocols based on NACMCF recommendations.
Topics
- Overview of challenge study design (purpose of study, product description, product assessment,
pathogens of concern, sampling intervals, test conditions, other controls, pass/fail criteria). - Introduction to models and their use (examples of models, applicability of models to different foods,
pathogen growth ranges used in modeling programs). - Purpose of study, product description and assessment (purpose of the study, time/temperature
control, lethality, formulation efficacy, product, ingredients, preparation, storage, pH and
water activity). - Pathogens of concern (selection criteria, ecology and epidemiology, use of models and the literature,
inactivation study parameters). - Sampling intervals and test conditions (growth vs. inactivation studies, strain selection, inoculation
methods, packaging, sample size and replicates). - Other controls and pass/fail criteria (surrogates, un-inoculated controls, pass/fail criteria selection
and limitations of study).
Instructors
Kaitlyn Casulli, University of Georiga
Ann Charles Vegdahl, Cornell AgriTech
Kristin Schill, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Intended Audience
Food industry professionals, testing lab personnel and regulators
Schedule
April 2 - 8:00 a.m. (registration) 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (workshop)
April 3 - 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m
Terms and Conditions
Photo Policy: We occasionally use photographs of attendees in our promotional material. By
attending, you agree to the usage of your likeness in such a manner.
Other: Any modifications to payment method will incur a $25 processing fee.
