In advance of new federal regulations that go into effect this September, Rutgers University’s Food Innovation Center (FIC) is offering training on Preventative Controls for Human Food (PCHF) on June 8-10, 2016, covering aspects of food handling that are now required by the Food Safety Modernization Act, the university recently announced.

Taking place at the Kearny Point Industrial Park in Kearny, NJ, the 20-hour course takes place over two-and-a-half days and will teach participants how to create an FDA Food Safety Plan with hazard analysis and risk-based preventative controls. Those who complete the course will earn a Food Safety Preventative Controls Alliance certificate showing they are an US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-recognized “Preventative Controls Qualified Individual” (PCQI).

“With the issuance of new regulations resulting from the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), our center has received numerous inquiries for training in PCHF, particularly from the very large food processing industry that exists in northern New Jersey and New York City,” said Lee Cooperhouse, director of the Rutgers Food Innovation Center in a recent press release.

The 2011 act’s Preventative Controls for Human Food are set to go into effect this fall. The program is scheduled to be lead by Donna Schaffner, associate director of food safety, quality assurance, and training at the FIC.

“PCHF training has only become available in recent months, so attendees of this course will be among the first to qualify for PCQI status,” Schaffner said in the press release. “Each FDA-regulated food processing facility that is not under regulatory-required HACCP must now have a PCQI to develop, implement, and validate their food safety plan as required under the 2011 FSMA Act, and the Preventative Controls for Human Food regulations that will go into effect in September of 2016 for many food processing companies.”

The training is geared food processing managers who deal with operations areas like quality assurance, plant operations, sanitation; food marketers; and other service providers and consultants.

For more information on the course, visit http://foodinnovation.rutgers.edu