• Food Safety Cohort Program
  • The Food Safety Cohort Program is designed to help food and beverage manufacturers create a Food Safety Plan that complies with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The goal is to support small food and beverage manufacturers to bring their food safety programs into compliance with recent changes in FDA regulations through a series of six 1-day sessions, held over the course of three months. Visit the webpage for more information and to register.

• Good Manufacturing Practices Asynchronous Course (On-Demand, Virtual):
  • Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) provide a foundation for any food safety system. They are a series of hygiene rules, product handling guidelines, sanitation procedures, and operational conditions required to produce safe foods. The FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has elevated traditional GMPs, now called “current GMPs” or “cGMPs,” to ensure that ingredients, products, and packaging materials are handled safely, and that food products are processed in a suitable environment.
  • Date: Available anytime between now and June 15, 2021
  • Duration: 4-hours total
  • Location: Georgia Tech Professional Education
  • Cost: $195
  • Click here for more information

• Preventive Controls Qualified Individual Certification Class
  • Become your plant’s Preventative Control Qualified Individual (PCQI), FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act requirement for every FDA-registered food facility. Two-part class, with the first part being offered through an online course outside of GaMEP. Once you register for part 2, we’ll provide you with the link to register for part 1.
  • Date: May 11, 2021
  • Time: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  • Location: Live, Webcast
  • Cost $395
  • Click for more information

• Food Recall & Crisis Management Short Course:
  • Learn strategies to improve traceability and lot coding.  Streamline Recall Plans needed to become compliant with governmental regulations and avoid unnecessary costs.  Improve Crisis Management Programs and learn mitigation strategies to understand priorities, protect your workforce, and ensure business continuity when disaster strikes.
  • Date: TBD
  • Time: 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
  • Location: Live, Webcast
  • Cost: $250 (Save and only pay $400 for both Recall and Sanitation Courses)
  • Complete the form below to register.

• Food Sanitation Short Course
  • Understand the techniques around different types of sanitation for food processing: wet cleaning, dry cleaning, CIP, and novel cleaning approaches.  Discuss personal protective equipment (PPE), chemicals, and materials needed for a successful sanitation program.  Learn Good Manufacturing Practices for sanitors, and understand the necessary documentation.  Explore different validation and verification activities to support your sanitation program, such as: pre-operational checks, chemical concentration testing, microbial equipment testing, and how to create a robust Environmental Monitoring Programs (EMP).  Lastly, learn valuable trending strategies to identify possible issues and trouble-shooting techniques to solve problems.
  • Date: TBD
  • Time: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
  • Location: Live, Webcast
  • Cost: $250 (Save and only pay $400 for both Recall and Sanitation Courses)
  • Complete the form below to register.

• To Mask or Not to Mask: That is the Question (From Manufacturers)
  • Informative, 1-hour webinar presented by Jenny Houlroyd, Georgia Tech SHES Occupational Health Services Manager. The webinar covered the OSHA/CDC guidance and assessments necessary to make risk-based, informed decisions to keep employees protected and start your post-pandemic journey.
  • View the recording here

• Multi-state Webinar: Demystifying GSFI, SQF, and Other Third-Party Audits
  • Informative, 1-hour webinar presented by GaMEP, CIRAS (Iowa), OMEP (Oregon), & TechHelp (Idaho). During this free webinar, speaker Janna Hamlett of TechHelp will decode common food safety and regulatory acronyms and explain what a third-party audit is, and the basic steps to complete one to satisfy your customer’s requirements. She’ll also cover examples of cost structures, how to prepare for the requirements of a third party audit, and how to communicate with your customers and suppliers about audit requirements.
  • Date: Tuesday, June 22nd
  • Time: 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
  • Location: Virtual
  • Click here for more information

• Georgia Annual Regulatory Breakfast
  • Opportunity for food safety professionals to hear the newest regulatory updates directly from: GDA, USDA FSIS, FDA and others. Bringing together Georgia food safety practitioners from the manufacturing sector, government, and academia to facilitate knowledge sharing and networking in a collaborative environment.
  • Date: TBD
  • Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
  • Location: Virtual

  Food Safety Compliance

On average, recalls can cost a food company $10 million in direct costs, damage to the brand, and lost sales. How would this impact your business? Assess your facility to meet food safety regulations and stay-up-to-date on the most recent standards. Download the Food Safety Compliance Flyer.

  Food Safety Management Systems

Implement, audit, and train your team on food safety management standards. By meeting food safety certification requirements you will prevent food safety recalls, increase customer satisfaction, and expand your marketability. Download the Food Safety Management Systems Flyer.

   Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Audit Training

Become certified to a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standard or upgrade your Food Safety Systems by ensuring all levels of your organization are trained on the GFSI audit requirements selected for your plant’s certification. Download the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Audit Training Flyer.

  Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Audits

Prepare for your Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Audit by gaining a fresh, outside perspective and determine areas of improvement in your Food Safety Systems. Download the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Audits Flyer.

   Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance

Learn how to navigate the complex and nuanced field of food safety regulatory requirements and help your organization achieve and maintain compliance with the USDA and the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Download the Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance Flyer.

   HACCP and Food Safety Plans

Create a Food Safety Plan or convert your Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan to include Preventive Controls in order to comply with the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations. Download the HACCP and Food Safety Plans Flyer.

  Managing for Daily Improvement

Get your team on board to fully support your organization’s direction. By directly involving them in developing key performance indicators, they will understand how to measure for good and bad days, communicate more effectively, increase their problem-solving skills, and support process improvement efforts. Download the Managing for Daily Improvement Flyer.

  Automation Assessment

Whether you have some automation in your plant and want to incorporate more or you are looking at using automation for the first time, GaMEP, as an unbiased party to any technology in the marketplace, will conduct a gap assessment to provide you with automation knowledge and recommendations. Download the Automation Assessment Flyer.

  Lean Six Sigma Training

Get White, Yellow, Green, or Black Belt training for your organization and develop Lean Six Sigma Champions to help improve the efficiency of your production process while simultaneously eliminating waste from the process. Download the Lean Six Sigma Training Flyer.

  Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

Address equipment breakdowns, high maintenance repair costs, missed deliveries, and quality problems due to equipment issues in order to achieve the ultimate goal of zero losses. Download the Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Flyer.

• Georgia Association of Food Protection (GAFP): https://www.gafoodprotection.org/
• South Eastern International Association of Food Technologists (SEIFT): https://www.southeasternift.org/
• Georgia Environmental Health Professionals (GEHA): https://geha-online.wildapricot.org/
• Georgia Grown: https://georgiagrown.com/
• Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Audits: https://mygfsi.com/
• UGA Food Product Innovation Center (Food PIC): https://foodpic.uga.edu/

• FSMA Site: https://www.fda.gov/food/guidance-regulation-food-and-dietary-supplements/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma
• FSMA Rules & Guidance for the Industry: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/fsma-rules-guidance-industry
• FSMA Frequently Asked Questions: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/frequently-asked-questions-fsma
• FSMA Training – See Training Section Above

• Food and Drug Administration – FDA (FSMA) https://www.fda.gov/food
  • All food production except Meat, Poultry, or Eggs
• Georgia Department of Agriculture – GDA http://agr.georgia.gov/
  • Same as FDA
• Georgia Department of Public Health – GDPH https://dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health/food-service
  • Brewery, Food Truck, & Food Service
• United States Department of Agriculture – USDA FSIS https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/home
  • Meat, Poultry, Eggs