The FDA Food Code and SC Regulation 61-25 require retail food establishments (RFEs) conducting high-risk processes such as reduced oxygen packaging (ROP) to have approved HACCP food safety plans.

This FREE workshop is designed to assist retail food operators in developing these safety plans. Our January, 2024 session will focus on processes in which products will be held in ROP packaging over 48 hours under refrigeration (not frozen), including: 

• Vacuum packaging for storage of raw proteins or other products
  
• Modified atmosphere packaging for use of oxygen scavengers or purging packaging with alternate gases such as nitrogen.
• Sous Vide – cooking foods in the vacuum sealed package 
• “ROP Cook-chill” - using ROP bags to store foods previously cooked by traditional methods  

To register, please complete this survey: Registration Link. Within a few days of submitting your registration, we will confirm your registration and provide the proper HACCP template to assist you. The workshop will follow the format of our HACCP templates.   

There are two segments to this session: 

Segment 1 will be a webinar using Microsoft Teams on January 8, 2024 from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM EST, covering basics of HACCP and food safety concerns relating to ROP processes. This is a great opportunity to provide the required formal annual training to your HACCP team, whether you already have an approved HACCP plan or not!

Segment 2 will be a HACCP plan writing workshop taking place on January 15, 2024 from 8:45 AM to 3:30 PM EST (11:45 to 1:00 lunch break). We strongly recommend attending this session in person, but Microsoft Teams will be available for those who cannot attend in person. Participants will be writing HACCP plans during this session with our guidance, using our template provided in advance. Each participant will need either a laptop or desktop computer to allow writing their HACCP plan during the Segment 2 workshop. If you have been working on a HACCP plan, or if you have set aside an ROP packaging process, take this opportunity for assistance to get your process approved!

The SC Department of Education Office of Career and Technical Education has approved 15 certificate renewal credits for educators who complete both segments of this “Virtual HACCP ROP Seminar” and who submit HACCP plan for review. 

You may need to download the Microsoft Teams app to your computer so you will have full functionality in the session. Each workshop will be interactive, so bring your questions! Our goal is to help participants produce a draft HACCP plan as near completion as possible within the day of the Segment 2 session.

Registration will close on January 5, 2024 at 12:00 PM EST.  

We look forward to seeing and working with you!