North Central Food Safety Extension Network To Offer Free Webinar Series For Entrepreneurs

The North Central Food Safety Extension Network will present a trio of webinars about food trends for entrepreneurs.

This free series is designed to answer questions from food entrepreneurs about food safety. Each webinar is from 11 a.m. to noon.

"Through the power and popularity of social media and farmers markets, some home chefs are choosing to use their skills to sell food items following the requirements in their states," says Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU professor and Extension food and nutrition specialist. "This webinar series is designed to provide information for food entrepreneurs to help them safely prepare foods for sale or home use."

The courses will be taught by experts around the region.

The first webinar, Best Practices for Food Entrepreneurs, will be held on Jan. 28. The speakers are Garden-Robinson and Karen Blakeslee, Extension associate.

The second webinar, Freeze Drying Foods: Science, Safety, and Cottage Industry, will be held on Feb. 4. This session will cover the science and food safety aspects involved in producers freeze-drying foods for sale to consumers. Mary-Grace Danao, research associate professor at University of Nebraska – Lincoln's Food Processing Center, will speak.

The final webinar, Sourdough Starters: Care, Safety, and Preservation, will be held on Feb. 11. Caitlin Clark, a food scientist at Colorado State University Spur, will speak. This course will cover the basics of sourdough, its makeup and benefits and how to stay safe when preparing and preserving it.

Register for any of the webinars at https://iastate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_25HYHfTvilNyage. Registrants will be emailed a Zoom link to participate.

Read the NDSU Extension publication "Food Safety Best Practices for Local Food Entrepreneurs" for more information about preparing food for sale.