For those of you who have been in the industry for a few years, you may remember the SFA Total Quality Assurance Course, taught by the late Dr. Wilbur Gould, Professor Emeritus at Ohio State University (OSU) through the late 1990s. The four-day course, known throughout the snack food industry, was the only program where quality-control personnel from snack food companies from around the world could come and learn everything there was to know about quality assurance as it related specifically to the snack food industry. With help from the Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT) and Ohio State University’s Department of Food Science, SFA has relaunched this one-of-a-kind snack food industry education program.

This new total quality management course, named after Dr. Gould, who also was a former SFA Food Technology Consultant, combines classroom lectures from the leading experts in food manufacturing in the mornings and practical lab work in OSU’s Parker Food Science Laboratory in the afternoon. Each attendee will have the opportunity to test and evaluate methods at the Food Science Laboratory during the course.

This new four-day course also will provide an understanding of how snacks are manufactured, why quality is important, where to emphasize quality control, what instruments and methods can be used to measure quality, when to make quality evaluations, and who should take responsibility for ensuring quality. Here’s a preview of what’s in store:

• Overview of the Snack Industry

• Fundamentals of Quality Assurance/Quality Management,

• Food Laws/Regulations Related to Quality (new labeling regulations, registration, prior notice, trans fatty acids, allergens)

• Regulatory Expectations for Safety & Security

• Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs/Regualtory Expectations for Safety/Security Act)

• Fundamentals of Plant Sanitation (HACCPs, SOPs, SSOPs)

• Tools for Managing Quality (sampling for control and evaluation, data evaluation)

• Record-Keeping and Interpretation of Records

• Machines and Methods for Snack Manufacturing (washing, peelers, slicers, fryers, mixers/dough handlers, ovens, extruders and poppers)

• Materials — Good Agricultural Practices

• Material — Potatoes

• For Chipping, Dehydration and Baking (chips)

• Materials — Sweet potatoes, Plantains, Vegetables for chipping

Pilot Plant (PM)

• Potato Chips – fried, dehydrated, baked – Dr. Barringer

• Chipping of other vegetables

• QC Methods (sugars, color, specific gravity, etc.)

• Plant Sanitation (practical demonstrations)

• Material — Corn, Masa Flour, Soy Flour and Rice Flour

• Materials — Fats and Oils

• Salt, Flavors and Seasonings

• Packages and Packaging (form/fill/seal, nitrogen generators, films, shelf life)

Pilot Plant (PM)

• Popcorn

• Extruded Snacks

• Form-fill-seal

• Coatings

• QC Methods (fat content, FFA, salt content, etc.)

• On-line Quality Control (near infra-red technology applications)

• Sensory Evaluation of Snack Foods

Pilot Plant (PM)

• On-line Quality Control Instrumentation

• Evaluation of Samples for Quality

Interpretation of Sensory Data

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind educational program. The registration deadline is Friday, Aug. 19, 2005.  For program and registration information, please contact Chris Clark (703-836-4500 ext. 218 or cclark@sfa.org) or visit us online at www.sfa.org.