July 8, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Jacobson
(805) 756-6097

International Dairy Foods Association to Hold Cheese Safety Conference
at Cal Poly Aug. 2-4

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The International Dairy Foods Association will hold a safety short course for cheese makers at Cal Poly Aug. 2-4.

The Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point training program for cheese makers will be the first the IDFA has held in California. The three-day short course at Cal Poly is co-sponsored by the California Dairy Research Foundation.

The event, which will be held at Cal Poly’s Dairy Products Technology Center, will address current hazard analysis and food biosecurity practices and their implementation in cheese plants.

Noted lecturers Allen Sayler of IDFA and John Rushing of North Carolina State University will headline the program. Joining Sayler and Rushing for a California-specific focus will be Professor Phillip Tong of Cal Poly’s Dairy Products Technology Center and Professor John Bruhn of the UC Davis Department of Food Science and Technology.

The three-day course will highlight how to build and implement a HACCP program as well as internal auditing of HACCP systems. Participants will learn about resources including the IDFA’s proprietary HACCP software, team exercises and knowledge assessments. Participants will receive customized manuals and materials and a certificate from the IDFA and can also qualify for continuing education credits.

“This short course is important to all California cheese makers – whether they already have a HACCP program in place or are looking to implement a new one,” said Joseph O’Donnell, executive director of the California Dairy Research Foundation. The IDFA is one of the leading providers of HACCP training for the dairy industry, he stressed. “This is the first time they are bringing their training skills to the state to help address consumer confidence and current issues of biosecurity – it’s a unique opportunity and one I encourage California cheese makers to take advantage of.”

Overall costs for the three-day short course are being underwritten by the CDRF. Advance registration is required and is limited to 40 California participants. Pre-registration is $175 through July 19; after July 19 registration is $200.

Online registration is available at www.acteva.com/go/CDRF. For more information about the short course, location or local hotel accommodations, contact event organizer Jennifer Giambroni at (415) 254-4549 or jgiambroni@sbcglobal.net. Registration forms are available at www.cdrf.org.

About Cal Poly’s Dairy Products Technology Center
Cal Poly’s Dairy Products Technology Center (DPTC), established in 1986, is a program within the College of Agriculture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, which conducts education, research, and outreach activities to provide solutions to help manage risk, facilitate innovation, and defend equity in the dairy foods industry and related business sectors. For further information visit www.calpoly.edu/~dptc.

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