The Department of Chemistry will stage the Better Process Control School for members of the food industry and relevant regulatory agencies from January 13-17, 2020. This course is a United States (Food and Drug Administration) FDA-approved programme. Satisfying local and international regulations, the course is a requirement for companies processing low acid and acidified foods. Such processing must be done under the supervision of someone who has satisfactorily completed this certification course. Failure to do so is a significant breach of the regulations and could incur penalties. The course covers scientific principles (e.g., microbiology, sanitation, acidification of foods and thermal processing), record keeping, operational equipment and their compliance with regulations, operational processes (retorting, aseptic processing), container handling and packaging integrity (cans, glass, flexible and semi-rigid) required for the safe production of low acid and acidified foods.

The UWI has been involved with the offering of the BPCS certification programme since 1995 and in 1997 the UWI was apoved by the FDA to certify the participants. The UWI was the first institution outside of North America to be granted this privilege. This year the course is expected to have 36 participants drawn from the food industry and the regulatory agencies (Bureau of Standards, NCBJ, South East Regional Health Authority). Three participants will be coming from Trinidad.

For more on the Better process Control School: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/chemistry/better-process-control-school-bpcs

For more on the Department of Chemistry: https://www.mona.uwi.edu/chemistry/