Training and Services
Educating the Industry
50+EDUCATION/TRAINING EVENTS
held each year on a variety of topics, including food safety, starting a food business, baking and more.
1000+EDUCATION/TRAINING ATTENDEES
attend each year to learn more about industry topics in value-added food and agricultural processing.
Online Training
Basic Training for Food Entrepreneurs
Have a food product idea you want to commercialize but don't have time to come to an in-house training? We can help! The Basic Training for Food Entrepreneurs is an online, self-paced course which covers how to take an idea or food product to market and helps address issues through business planning assistance, market identification, strategies and an explanation of food processing regulations. The training consists of 11 modules with interactive learning activities and quizzes.
- Cost - $225
Selling Home Bakery Items - What You Need to Know
The Oklahoma Home Bakery Act of 2013 made it legal to prepare baked goods in an uninspected home kitchen and sell the goods from the homeowner’s premises. This act was amended in 2017 to allow home-baked items to be sold off-premises in selected locations. This online training assists home bakers in understanding the regulations.
- Cost - $100
Understanding Food Labeling Regulations
This online course is for both beginning and advanced food industry professionals and provides information about FDA food labeling regulations and other related subjects to the regulated industry. Learn about mandatory label elements, food allergen labeling, nutrition labeling requirements, health and nutrition claims, special labeling issues such as exemptions and USDA-FSIS regulations.
- Cost - $600
Basic HACCP
The online Basic HACCP training covers the basics of designing a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan and is accredited by the International HACCP Alliance. Employees responsible for developing, improving or maintaining a HACCP system will benefit from taking this online training.
- Cost - $299
Food Safety Professional
Apply Today!
Starting a New Business
Business Plan Review
Whether you're starting a small business or exploring ways to expand an existing one, a business plan is an important tool to help guide your decisions. A business plan conveys the organizational structure of your business and acts as a management tool to refer to regularly to ensure your business is on course with meeting goals, sales targets or milestones. Let us review your business plan and offer suggestions to help improve your strategy and business goals.
Sample Food Business Plan
Cost Analysis
We strive to ensure a profitable future for Oklahoma food and fiber processors by necessitating a constant and intensive review of changes in both industry characteristics and markets. We can provide feasibility analysis to determine if a project or idea is technically feasible, realistic within an estimated cost and profitable.
Feasibility Templates
Label Review
Is your product label compliant with FDA regulations? We have specialists who are knowledgeable in areas of label compliance, including mandatory label elements, nutrition labeling, health and nutrition claims, food allergens and exemptions. Let us help make sure your label meets these regulations.
CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21
Communications
Effective communication is an important part of operating any business and is the key to an organization's success, particularly within a small business, where employees often wear many hats. We offer services in logo design, label design, packaging design, brochures and information sheets, website development and social media assistance to help companies with their communication plan.
News and PublicationsNeed more information on starting a new business?
Contact: Erin Johnson
Testing
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition fact panels are an important and essential part of a food product's packaging. The nutrition information is one of the top elements consumers look at when deciding on purchasing a food product. We can help food companies develop nutrition fact panels for their products.
Request a Nutrition Fact Panel
Process Authority
A Preserved Food Process Evaluation is a service we provide to food processors. This service exists to offer a scientific evaluation and opinion regarding the safety of a food preservation process. Food products that are likely to support the growth of harmful microorganisms if not properly preserved are candidates for evaluation.
Request Process Authority Evaluation
USDA/FDA Pilot-Scale Processing
Does your business need pilot-scale processing services? We can help with training and demonstration, process system development and evaluation, product development, equipment evaluation, ingredient evaluation, technology transfer, thermal process evaluation and consumer market testing.
Need more information on testing?
Contact: Andrea Graves
Food Safety Assistance
Training and Education
We offer a variety of training and education opportunities for standardized food safety and defense programs, such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), Internal Auditor, BRC, Safe Quality Foods (SQF), FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food and Animal Food and Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training. Workshops are available online and in-person on the OSU-Stillwater campus. Customized workshops also are available at customer facilities and other community venues.
In-plant Assistance and Audits
We focus on direct food industry assistance in the areas of auditing, pre-third-party audit preparations and in-plant technical assistance for food safety/quality programs. We provide GFSI resources to assist food processors as they undergo rigorous third-party auditing for standardized food safety/defense programs. These include federal programs, such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) but also includes private sector retailer and foodservice-driven programs, like BRC, Safe Quality Foods (SQF), Primus, FSSC 22000 and other Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) programs per request.