Ohio State’s Food Industries Center responds to the needs of the food industry with online continuing education.
The OSU Food Industries Center is launching a new online continuing education course called Introduction to Food Science Essentials. This 10 week online training will begin on October 2 and is designed for food industry professionals who are new to the industry or are looking to enhance their technical knowledge and have not received a formal education in the field of food science and technology.
“Many non-food scientists are working in the food industry – whether their background is chemistry, marketing, manufacturing, or microbiology. This course is designed specifically for them and can help fill knowledge gaps related to food quality, food components, food manufacturing, and food safety,” said the center’s director and lead instructor for the course, Dr. Valente Alvarez, who is also a professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. “After completing the program, participants will be able to immediately apply what they learned in their current positions.”
Introduction to Food Science Essentials is the first online course offered through the Food Industries Center, which hosts one to two in-person continuing education courses and workshops per month. Some course offerings meet regulatory requirements such as the FSPCA – Preventive Controls for Human Food Training, Introductory HACCP, or Better Process Control School; while other workshops provide hands-on technical training such as Cleaning and Sanitation Basics, Advanced CIP, Introduction to Dairy Processing and Management, or Dairy Lab for Improved Quality.
This continuing education course was developed based on requests that the center received from the food industry through feedback from other course participants and suggestions from its industry advisory board members.
“The industry is very supportive of our program,” Alvarez said, “and we do everything we can to support the industry. It’s a good relationship, and we’re always working to make it even better.”
Click here to learn more about this course or to register online.
For questions, contact: Heather Dean, Dean.840@osu.edu.