Preventing and managing food recalls will be the focus of September NCDA&CS workshop

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the N.C. Food Safety and Defense Task Force will host a workshop Sept. 19 in Raleigh on preventing and managing food recalls. The event is tailored for home-based food businesses, shared-use kitchens, food and meat processing facilities and co-packers.

"A food recall can be damaging for any food business, but particularly for new and smaller companies," said NCDA&CS food business specialist Annette Dunlap. "Fortunately, there are several steps food entrepreneurs can take to prevent a recall from happening and prepare for a recall if it does occur."

The workshop will feature presentations from retailers, health officials, food inspectors and NCDA&CS staff. Topics include the economics of a food recall, a retailer's perspective, communicating a recall to your customers and the public, common and avoidable mistakes in the food safety chain, seafood safety hazards, foodborne disease outbreak prevention and preventing intentional food contamination.

The cost for the workshop is $20, which includes lunch and materials. The deadline for registration is Sept. 12. For more information or to register, go to www.ncagr.gov/markets/agribiz/, or call Annette Dunlap at 919-707-3117.