Source: UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA submitted to
NATIONAL CENTER FOR HOME FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0226960
Grant No.
2011-51110-30995
Project No.
GEO-2011-04851
Proposal No.
2011-04851
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
111
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2011
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2016
Grant Year
2011
Project Director
Andress, E. L.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
200 D.W. BROOKS DR
ATHENS,GA 30602-5016
Performing Department
Col of Family & Consumer Sci
Non Technical Summary
The practice of home food preservation has been experiencing dramatic increases in interest and activity in the last few years. There needs to be a sound scientific basis for many methods involved in processing and preserving food at home in order to prevent foodborne illness. Yet, the Internet and community activism around local food systems have led to many sources of information and advice, which while well-intentioned, are not always promoting safe handling and processing advice. USDA and the Cooperative Extension System (CES) have more than a century of recognition as the leading sources for research-based consumer recommendations but the CES is experiencing budget and staff reductions in the individual states. A previously established National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation (NCHFPP) website is extremely popular as a supporting resource for the CES and the public, receiving 1.08 million unique visitors per year. Nevertheless, risky practices (particularly in home canning) do exist in the population, as do the needs for continual education, outreach, and applied research. This project addresses integrated Extension and research goals for promoting safe food handling through home processing and preservation, through national support and coordination of food safety programs and resources. It is multidisciplinary and multi-state. This project proposes to update and maintain the existing NCHFPP website, target website offerings to the media and small food entrepreneurs, and conduct webinars twice a year for Extension and other educators. Conduct of objective, public applied research provides a foundation for updating Extension and USDA recommendations. Therefore, this project also will conduct research projects related to the appropriate and safe use of the home-style atmospheric steam canner for small batch canning as well as the functioning of a reusable plastic canning lid system currently in the marketplace. Finally, the NCHFPP will also develop, pilot test and evaluate a youth food preservation curriculum suitable for delivery in a variety of nonformal community 4-H and other workshop settings. These materials will help meet requests made to faculty in the previous NCHFPP project as well as Extension specialists nationwide for resources to be used with youth from those engaged in the popular movement toward community and school gardens. The expected outcomes are improved knowledge of scientific foundations for home food preservation among Extension and other educators, improved knowledge and skills in home food preservation among youth, and original research findings on atmospheric steam canning and jar lid functioning that can be applied to Extension and USDA recommendations for processing food at home. One benefit is to continue allowing Extension and USDA to provide appropriate technical assistance and research-based education and information systems to citizens in order to prevent foodborne illness and/or economic losses associated with food spoilage.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
5015010202025%
5014099110010%
5015010302035%
5015010303030%
Goals / Objectives
The overall goal of this proposed work is to improve the capacity of Cooperative Extension specialists/educators to deliver technical assistance and research-based home food preservation information. The project is composed of integrated extension/research objectives. Objective 1: To continue to support educators in the national Cooperative Extension System, home food preservers, the media and other educators through expansion and maintenance of the USDA-related National Center for Home Food Preservation website (NCHFPP). Services and activities will include (a) review and updating of the NCHFPP website on a continual basis, (b) expansion of the linkages to nationwide Extension resources for and assistance to small food and farm entrepreneurs utilizing home- or near-home food processing methods, and (c) producing and evaluating short webinars every six months via distance technology to Extension educators and website users. Objective 2: To develop, pilot test and evaluate a series of lesson plans for teaching food preservation and related food safety concepts to youth in nonformal, Extension-type programming such as 4-H clubs, after school programs, and summer enrichment programs. Activities and products will include (a) multi-state planning for curriculum content, (b) developing and pilot testing an original curriculum and (c) evaluation and broad public dissemination of the curriculum. Objective 3: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the safety of atmospheric steam canners for processing of acid foods. New data will be generated on heat distribution in a steam canner readily available in the open marketplace, as well as heat penetration and pathogen destruction behavior for a selection of home-canned foods within the USDA body of food preservation recommendations. Results will be submitted to scientific peer review and new Extension recommendations will be formalized and disseminated. Objective 4: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the performance of a reusable plastic canning lid in the marketplace. New data will be generated from experimental food packs and storage studies to allow comparisons to traditional home canning lid systems currently described in USDA recommendations. Results will be submitted to scientific peer review and findings will be incorporated as appropriate into Extension recommendations. Reports of research studies and evaluation findings for the youth curriculum will be shared electronically with the Cooperative Extension System and on the NCHFPP website.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Expand the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFPP) website. Methods include (a) regular scanning and updating of the website contents, (b) environmental scanning of nationwide Extension websites to keep referrals current, (c) a new webpage to provide links to nationwide Extension resources for small food entrepreneurs, (d) targeting website content appropriate to media outlets, and (e) webinars every six months via distance technology to Extension and other educators. Input from a convenience sample of previous media contacts will be sought for that new section; a website pop-up survey will ask other media users for input. Webinars for educators will be announced on the website and through national listservs of Extension and other food safety contacts. During pre-registration, participants will be asked to voluntarily complete an online pre-test to ascertain their knowledge about key concepts. At the end, another online evaluation will determine knowledge change; intent to make personal behavior changes if appropriate; and/or likelihood of using the content in their educational programs. The post-webinar evaluation will also obtain feedback as to usefulness of the format, future webinar topics, and evaluation of the instructor. Objective 2: Develop a curriculum for teaching food preservation to youth. Methods include (a) multi-state planning for curriculum content, (b) development of the lessons in Georgia and South Carolina, (c) pilot testing in a variety of youth settings by Extension agents, and (d) evaluation of the curriculum by change in knowledge in the youth and for process by Extension agents prior to finalization. Objective 3: Evaluate the atmospheric home steam canner for processing of acid foods. (a) Conduct heat distribution studies in a steam canner readily available in the open market. (b) After experimental determination of cold spots, conduct heat penetration studies for selected foods within USDA home canning recommendations. Selected foods will represent varying modes of heat transfer within a canning jar. Processes will be calculated using 24 datapoints from at least 3 canner loads. (c) Verify calculated processes with microbial challenge studies carried out in triplicate for each food/process combination. Objective 4: Evaluate the performance of a reusable plastic canning lid in standard home canning practices. Experimental food packs representing different food characteristics and jar filling practices that can affect lid performance (air entrapment, hot pack, raw pack, boiling water and pressure processing, unclean sealing surfaces, and overfills) will be made using the plastic lid, traditional two-piece metal lid and a glass/rubber ring lid system for comparisons. Sealing success rates, initial vacuum levels obtained, and vacuum retention over storage periods up to one year in duration will be recorded along with subjective evaluations of use. The NCHFPP website will be used as a record of activities and products. Additional communication methods to stakeholders will include Extension listservs, professional scientific meetings and internal Extension in-service workshops.

Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Extension educators and master volunteers nationwide, public school and home school teachers, home farmers and gardeners, general public both nationally and internationally, media, industry professionals and food entrepreneurs interested in starting a processing business. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth curriculum had the potential of reaching over 80,000 youth across the country (based on information provided at the time electronic files are requested), but as previously stated, users are not providing evaluations or feedback surveys. Dr. Ingham and Dr. Andress put together a national listserv of state Extension consumer food safety specialists and started a monthly conference call (1 hour each) for sharing research and programming and webinars began May 2015. An update was provided for the NCHFP by Dr. Andress in May 2016. Six additional webinars by specialists in other states were offered to food preservation specialists nationwide. The peer community of practice that has developed out of this group regularly communicates on policy and practice issues related to food safety and home food preservation. Communication was via email, phone calls and an in-person meeting in August 2016 at the IAFP annual conference. Dr. Andress and Dr. Ingham conduct regular Extension educator in-service food preservation trainings in their two states as well as selected others upon request. The products of this project as well as broader home food preservation recommendations are taught to these trainers of others. In November 2015, Dr. Andress taught a University of Kentucky Common Readings online class for KY Extension educators about home food preservation practices. Dr. Andress taught a lecture on safe food processing at a UGA workshop for beginning food entrepreneurs in April 2016. Dr. Andress hosted the new food preservation specialist at Washington State University in May at a workshop and provided orientation to the NCHFP and our food preservation resources. Dr. Andress provided a workshop on an introduction to food fermentations to 60 public school FACS teachers in Georgia in January 2016. Dr. Andress also conducted a University of Georgia 4-day hands-on workshop on home food preservation for UGA Extension educators and included information about NCHFP resources and curricula. Dr. Andress conducted a one-day food preservation update for UGA Extension educators that included hands-on experiences with newer electric canning appliances in the marketplace. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The public resources available through the National Center are made available through its website, located at http://nchfp.uga.edu and the blog, www.preservingfoodathome.com Two journal articles from the atmospheric steam canner research were published previously. Two other journal articles from this project, on lid research and curriculum development, are in process. Dr. Andress also provided interviews to various news writers for magazines, websites, and newspapers. Educators in multiple states have taught youth with the PUT IT UP! Curriculum. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2015-2016, the National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation (NCHFP) continued outreach through a website, blog and Twitter account. A new 48-page full color booklet, Preserve It & Serve It: A Children's Guide, was developed. Copies continue to be for sale to the public, with marketing directed to educators. Free distribution of the project's curriculum, PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth, was continued through electronic files on the NCHFP website. These activities are addressing safe food handling by consumers and prevention of major illnesses such as botulism food poisoning. The majority of foodborne botulism cases in the U.S. are from foods improperly processed in the home. In 2012, CDC initiated a home canning website oriented to avoiding botulism from home canning due to recent cases. The NCHFP project leader collaborated on the 2016 update of the CDC website and resources. Recent estimates from a study released in 2010 by PEW Charitable Trusts put the cost a case of botulism at $726,362. Objective 1: To continue to support educators in the national Cooperative Extension System, home food preservers, the media and other educators through expansion and maintenance of the NCHFP website. Popularity of the National Center for Home Food Preservation website, http://nchfp.uga.edu, continues and use can be documented by analyses of traffic, as well as individual email contacts. Usage statistics indicate that the website received 2.25 million visits in this reporting period, from over 1.65 million unique visitors, viewing 4.2 million pages. Visits per month from September 2015 through August 2016 ranged from 100,013 (Feb) to 379,588 (Sept). Visits per day range from 2,499(Dec 25) to 18,902 (Sept 7). A linked blog started in November 2012 has received 56,778 views from September 2015 through August 2016. During this time period, 13 new entries were posted and the blog received an average of 155 views per day. Since the funding for a full-time project assistant ended, less attention is devoted to the blog than in previous years. Beginning in December 2015, as a result of an invited collaboration with the CDC, an NCHFP Twitter account was opened. The impetus for tweeting was to participate in a CDC Holiday Food Safety Twitter Chat on Dec. 9, 2015. In addition to the Twitter Chat, 27 tweets relating to safe home food preserving were posted. Pages on the NCHFP website were updated regarding advice for preventing botulism in home canning of vegetables, pre-sterilizing jars, using atmospheric steam canners, using electric multi-cookers for home canning, and resources available in other state Extension sites. Seasonal Tips were updated and provide organization of resources by special topics to help media and educators. Step-by-step guides illustrated with original photos for some practices have been added to slide presentations. A new original recipe and process for apple chutney was developed and posted to the NCHFP website in September 2016. Individual requests from around the country were handled through email, fax and phone throughout every month; these are responses to the public, media and Extension educators. Objective 2: To develop, pilot test and evaluate a series of six lesson plans for teaching food preservation and related food safety concepts to youth in nonformal, Extension-type programming such as 4-H clubs, after school programs and summer enrichment programs. All work and distribution on this curriculum, PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth was reported on previously. Obtaining post-use feedback remains a challenge as leaders and other users are not submitting feedback forms. UGA Extension is starting use some of these lessons more regularly in state youth programs and will continue its own organizational program evaluations. A companion food preservation book for children, Preserve It & Serve It: A Children's Guide, was finalized, illustrated, and printed. It is being made available to the public as a for-sale UGA Extension publication. Marketing is being directed to Extension and other educators, although it is available to anyone in the general public. Objective 3: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the safety of atmospheric steam canners for processing of acid foods. The research was completed in previous years, as was publishing of the study. In this final year, consumer messaging was developed for the NCHFP website. Work will continue after the project end date to further illustrate proper use of the atmospheric steam canner for USDA home canning recommendations. Objective 4: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the performance of a reusable plastic canning lid in the marketplace. All work and the final thesis from this research was completed in previous years. A journal article is in preparation at this time.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Andress, E.L. and Christian, K.A. (2016rev) Burning Issue: Canning in Electric Multi-cookers.. Athens, GA: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Located at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/electric_cookers.html
  • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Christian, K.A. and Harrison, E.L. (2016). Preserve It & Serve It: A Childrens Guide to Canning, Freezing, Drying, Pickling and Preparing Snacks with Preserved Foods. Ed. by E.L. Andress. Athens, GA: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. 48 pp. For-sale by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Andress, E.L., ed. (2016). National Center for Home Food Preservation. 2004-present. Website located at http://nchfp.uga.edu
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Christian, K.A. and Andress, E.L. (2015-16). Preserving Food at Home. 2012-present, Blog located at http://preservingfoodathome.com/


Progress 09/01/14 to 08/31/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Extension educators and master volunteers nationwide, home farmers and gardeners, general public both nationally and internationally, media, industry professionals and food entrepreneurs interested in starting a processing business. Changes/Problems:Wisconsin made a modification in their co-PI, beginning September 2014. Dr. Mark Etzel was removed. This research group will also investigate the impact of intrinsic factors in home-canned tomato products, such as pH, on home processing recommendations. Clemson University made a modification in their last year subcontract, to use money unspent on pilot testing of youth curriculum for producing copies of the curriculum to use in youth workshops throughout the state. Their subcontract ended August 31, 2015. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth curriculum had the potential of reaching over 51,000 youth across the country but as previously stated, users are not providing evaluations or feedback surveys yet. Dr. Ingham and Dr. Andress put together a national listserv of state Extension consumer food safety specialists and started a monthly conference call (1 hour each) for sharing research and programming. The first session was conducted May 2015. The May and June conference calls featured NCHFP research projects and development of the youth curriculum. (Dr. Ingham is hosting the technology side and put together the bulk of the first year's agenda and speakers which are scheduled through June 2016.) The community of practice that has developed out of this group regularly communicates on policy and practice issues related to food safety and home food preservation. Dr. Andress and Dr. Ingham conduct regular Extension educator in-service food preservation trainings in their two states as well as selected others upon request. The products of this project as well as broader home food preservation recommendations are taught to these trainers of others. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The public resources available through the National Center are made available through its website, located at http://nchfp.uga.edu and the blog, www.preservingfoodathome.com A public national webinar about the development and content of the youth curriculum for educators was presented in November 2014. Two journal articles from the atmospheric steam canner research were published. Two Masters theses have published. Dr. Andress also provides interviews to various news writers for magazines, websites, and newspapers. Dr. Andress taught an invited pre-conference workshop (n=140) for the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) annual meeting in September 2014. She also taught an invited professional development webinar for NEAFCS members (n=100) in July 2015 that is now archived for other members. Dr. Andress taught an invited spotlight session (n=165) for the national annual meeting of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo®) in October 2014. Poster presentations were made at two professional conferences, December 2014 and July 2015. Educators in multiple states have taught youth with the PUT IT UP! Curriculum. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Continue reviewing and updating the NCFHP website, with more attentiongiven to resources for media. Four additional modules will be added to the online self-study opportunity available through the website. Links to Extension resources in other states will be continually updated as needed. Two additional public webinars will be organized and offered. Continue the Preserving Food at Home blog. Position statements related to changes in canners and ingredients in the marketplace will be created as requested by Extension peers and added to the website. Even though the NCHFP project is no longer supporting product development research, the University of Georgia is conducting some which will be shared via the website. As other states contribute to the knowledge and appropriate research base, their Extension publications and new product recommendations will be made available through the website, also. The NCFHP project directors will also continue to engage in communication with the national network of Extension food preservation specialists in the U.S. they have created. Objective 2: The food preservation book for youth, Preserve It & Serve It, will be finished and made available for sale as a colorful print book (48 pages). This will serve as a companion to the PUT IT UP! curriculum. New strategies will be developed and employed to obtain user evaluation data for the PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth curriculum. A journal article from the development and pilot study of this curriculum is in preparation for the Journal of Extension. Objective 3: A consumer version of the results and recommendations resulting from the atmospheric steam canner research will be developed in 2015 and distributed in written form as well as video through the National Center for Home Food Preservation website. This research group will also investigate the impact of intrinsic factors in home-canned tomato products, such as pH, on home processing recommendations. Objective 4: Finalize analysis of research data from canning lid comparisons.A refereed journal article will be submitted. A consumer version of the findings and recommendations will be written and published on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2014-2015, the National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation (NCHFP) continued outreach through a website and blog; the use and access for both continues to increase. Pilot testing for the curriculum, PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth, was completed; the curriculum was published and made available electronically through the NCHFP website in August 2014. Applied research continued on heating studies with an atmospheric steam canner and sealing studies with a marketplace plastic home canning lid. The lid studies were completed in May; a thesis was approved and a journal article is in preparation for Food Protection Trends. The steam canning heat penetration work was completed and two journal articles were published in 2015, one in Food Science & Nutrition and another in Food Protection Trends. A thesis was approved at University of Wisconsin from this work. These activities are addressing safe food handling by consumers and prevention of major illnesses such as botulism food poisoning. The majority of foodborne botulism cases in the U.S. are from foods improperly processed in the home. In 2012, CDC initiated a home canning website oriented to avoiding botulism from home canning due to recent cases. Recent estimates from a study released in 2010 by PEW Charitable Trusts put the cost a case of botulism at $726,362. Objective 1: To continue to support educators in the national Cooperative Extension System, home food preservers, the media and other educators through expansion and maintenance of the NCHFP website. Popularity of the National Center for Home Food Preservation website, www.homefoodpreservation.com, continues to grow and can be documented by analyses of traffic, as well as individual email contacts. Usage statistics indicate that the website received 2.73 million visits in this reporting period, from over 2.04 million unique visitors, viewing 5.04 million pages. Visits per month from September 2014 through August 2015 ranged from 122,425 (April) to 473,172 (Sept). Visits per day range from 3,394 (April 17) to 26,196 (Sept 1). A linked blog started in November 2012 received 72,592 views from September 2014 through August 2015. During the current annual period, 28 new entries were posted and the blog received an average of 199 views per day. The on-line self-study, Preserving Food at Home, from the NCFHP remains popular also, with 1,330 users accessing the course in this report year.411 completed the post-study evaluation form. Pages on the website were updated regarding advice for preventing botulism in home canning of vegetables, pre-sterilizing jars, using atmospheric steam canners, using electric multi-cookers for home canning, and preserving figs, okra and peaches. The curriculum, PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth, was published on the website in August. Individual requests from around the country were handled through email, fax and phone throughout every month; these are responses to the public, media and Extension educators. Objective 2: To develop, pilot test and evaluate a series of six lesson plans for teaching food preservation and related food safety concepts to youth in nonformal, Extension-type programming such as 4-H clubs, after school programs and summer enrichment programs. National distribution of the curriculum began in August 2014 on the NCFHP website where it is advertised on the homepage. A request form to collect information about potential users and their intended use of the curriculum is accessed from the NCFHP website. After completion of the form, a password is presented for accessing the electronic curriculum files. By the end of this reporting period, 1,767 copies of the curriculum have been requested from educators in all 50 U.S. states and D.C. Based on their intended use, potentially over 51,000 youth could have been reached in this year. Educators included those from Extension (about 50 percent), Boys and Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts, and home-schools. Evaluations were completed by 507 youth during the two-state pilot phase in 2013-2014. Obtaining post-use feedback has been difficult and will be addressed in the next project year. Beginning in August 2015, an offer was posted on the website promotion offering an incentive, but that has only yielded one evaluation submission. A national webinar was presented in November 2014 to present the development and content of the youth curriculum. The archived presentation is available from the NCHFP website. A companion food preservation book for youth was drafted, reviewed, edited and submitted for layout and illustration to a graphic artist. Middle schoolers (n=15) in one county in Florida were taught refrigerator pickles, canned jam, freezer jam, and canned salsa using the PUT IT UP! curriculum for youth. The leader, an Extension educator, reported that in her opinion, the program 'definitely' increased knowledge of food safety concepts, understanding of food preservation scientific principles, the ability to safely prepare and preserve food at home, and interest in preparing and serving food at home (four scales used in a teacher rating assessment). She adapted the curriculum by using other recipes for refrigerator pickles and jam besides those suggested in the curriculum. However, the content of the lessons was used. She reported that the recipes and procedures were very good and that this opportunity was the first exposure to canning for all participants. A smaller class of elementary school-age children (n=5) in a 4-H club in Missouri were taught the freezer jam lesson from PUT IT UP!. This educator reported that the children 'definitely' increased knowledge of food safety concepts and interest in preparing and preserving food at home. The youth 'somewhat' demonstrated increased ability to prepare and preserve food safely and understanding of scientific concepts related to food preservation. Great mentoring and teamwork by 3 parents working with the youth and educator were reported. Objective 3: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the safety of atmospheric steam canners for processing of acid foods. Work to date on this project has resulted in development of recommendations for the use of an atmospheric steam canner for home processing of high-acid foods. Extensive thermal process calculations were required in order to determine the safety of using an atmospheric steam canner as compared to the traditionally approved boiling water canner for these foods. Two scientific journal articles were published as well as a Master's thesis. Objective 4: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the performance of a reusable plastic canning lid in the marketplace. Laboratory work in processing jars for the University of Georgia study comparing three types of home canning lids used on pint jars was completed in summer 2013. Metal, plastic and glass lids were used for hot pack apples, crushed tomatoes, raw pack carrots and hot pack carrots. Jars in storage were analyzed into summer 2014. The graduate student thesis was defended in March 2014 using data through 3 months storage. A journal article is in preparation using all storage data.

Publications

  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Sivanandam, G. (2014). Evaluation and comparison of the sealing performance of three major types of jar lids available for home canning. M.S. Thesis, University of Georgia, Athens. http://athenaeum.libs.uga.edu/xmlui/handle/10724/31513
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Willmore, P. (2015). Safety of Atmospheric Steam Canners for Processing Acid Foods. M. S. Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, WI.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Christian, K. and Barefoot, S. (2015rev). Put It Up! Food Preservation for Youth. Athens, Georgia: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Electronic files available from http://nchfp.uga.edu
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Andress, E.L., ed. (2015). National Center for Home Food Preservation. 2004-present. Website located at http://nchfp.uga.edu
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Etzel, M.R., Willmore, P. and Ingham, B. (2015). Heat penetration and thermocouple location in home canning. Food Science & Nutrition, Vol. 3, No. 1 (January), p. 25-31.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Willmore, P, Etzel, M, Andress, E. and Ingham, B. (2015). Home processing of acid foods in atmospheric steam and boiling water canners. Food Protection Trends, Vol 35, No. 3 (May-June), p.150160.
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Christian, K.A. and Andress, E.L. (2015). Preserving Food at Home. 2012-present, Blog located at http://preservingfoodathome.com/
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Christian, K.A. and Andress, E.L. (2014). PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth. Poster presented at 2014 Consumer Food Safety Education Conference, Together: A Food Safe America. Washington, DC. December 4-5.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Andress, E.L. and Sivandam, G., Harrison, JA and Grossman, BM. (2015). Evaluation and comparison of the sealing performance of three major types of jar lids available for home canning. Paper P1-210. Poster presented at International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting, Portland, OR. July 26.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Andress, E.L. and Christian, K.A. (2015) Burning Issue: Canning in Electric Multi-cookers.. Athens, GA: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Located at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/electric_cookers.html
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Andress, E.L. and Christian, K.A. (2015) Burning Issue: Using Atmospheric Steam Canners.. Athens, GA: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Located at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/steam_canners.html


Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience:Extension educators and master volunteers nationwide, home farmers and gardeners, general public both nationally and internationally, media, industry professionals and food entrepreneurs interested in starting a processing business. Changes/Problems:Clemson will be making a modification in the PI of their subcontract, beginning September 2014. Distribution of print copies and training of educators in South Carolina will be added to their project with budget savings from the pilot testing phase for the curriculum. Wisconsin will be making a modification in their co-PI, beginning September 2014. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The National Center hosted 9 educators from the Michigan Extension Food Safety Team on June 2-5, 2014. The team participated in updates on the National Center ongoing and past research projects as well as educational resources. They also conducted lab-based food preservation activities in pectin science and preservation of fruit spreads, receiving the opportunity to use two new appliances with new technologies for the home food preserver. Finally, they visited with two different county offices and educators in Georgia to hear about their food preservation programs including pilot programming done in support of the National Center new youth curriculum. Two National Center project leaders conducted a local youth workshop in home canning (salsa) in White County, Georgia, on July 10, 2014. This provided the opportunity to carry out a lesson in the new National Center youth curriculum with the target audience in a real-world situation, as well as educate a county agent new to food preservation, 4 adult volunteers in that county, and 14 4-H youth in that county. The project director taught 1-hour sessions about home canning methods and recommended resources for food entrepreneurs in Georgia at "Starting A Food Business in Georgia" workshops in and at an FDA-GMA Better Process Control School held in Athens in March. These are collaborative efforts with Extension Food Science and Technology at the University of Georgia, FDA, USDA, Georgia Department of Agriculture, and various organizations and food businesses. Two national opportunities were accepted and organized for presentation in early fall 2014. A pre-conference workshop for the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS) was planned and organized for September; this will be an opportunity for approximately 140 Extension educators (state, area or county level) to learn about the National Center projects, USDA and Extension recommendations for home food preservation, and participate in small group activities for experiential learning. A presentation was developed for the national Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to be held in October. This will reach approximately 150 nutrition professionals and educators with information about the National Center and recommended food preservation resources for consumers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The public resources available through the National Center are made available through its website, located at http://nchfp.uga.edu and the blog, www.preservingfoodathome.com Dr. Andress also provides interviews to various news writers for magazines, websites, and newspapers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Continue reviewing and updating the NCFHP website, with more attentiongiven to resources for media. Four additional modules will be added to the online self-study opportunity available through the website. Links to Extension resources in other states will be continually updated as needed; recently state Extension websites have been updated frequently due to consumer interest in this subject area. Two additional public webinars will be organized and offered. Continue the Preserving Food at Home blog. Position statements related to changes in canners and ingredients in the marketplace will be created as requested by Extension peers and added to the website. Even though the NCHFP project is no longer supporting product development research, the University of Georgia is conducting some which will be shared via the website. As other states contribute to the knowledge and appropriate research base, their Extension publications and new product recommendations will be made available through the website, also. The NCFHP staff will also engage in building a national network of Extension food preservation specialists in the U.S. that will engage in regular communication and decision-making for national consistency in recommendations. Objective 2: Produce a free webinar, Teaching Youth How To Put It Up!, with the intent of reaching consumers and educators. The webinar recording will then be available through a link at nchfp.uga.edu, and anyone seeking training as an educator of youth is allowed to access it. A national poster presentation will be made in December at Together: A Safe Food America, The Consumer Food Safety Education Conference, in Arlington, VA. Training of statewide food preservation Extension educators and volunteer "coaches" with Clemson University will be conducted. Training in use of the curriculum will be provided for Georgia county agents. Evaluation data will be collected and summarized from users of the curriculum if they respond. Objective 3: Microbiological studies in the atmospheric steam canner research have been completed. Results from these studies and the heat penetration research with the atmospheric steam canner will be shared with scientific communities and via publication in refereed journal article. A consumer version of the results and recommendations will be developed in 2015-16 and distributed in written form as well as video and distributed through the National Center for Home Food Preservation website. Objective 4: Finish analyzing data from storage studies with canning lid research.A refereed journal article will be submitted as well as a proposal for a national scientific meeting presentation. A consumer version of the findings and recommendations will be written and published on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2013-2014, the National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation (NCHFP) continued outreach through a website and blog; the use and access for both continues to increase. Significant progress was made on developing and pilot testing a series of six lesson plans on food preservation suitable for youth audiences. The curriculum, PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth, was published and made available electronically through the NCHFP website in August. Applied research continued on heating studies with an atmospheric steam canner and sealing studies with a marketplace plastic home canning lid. The lid studies were completed in May; a thesis was approved and a journal article is in preparation for Food Protection Trends. The steam canning heat penetration work was completedand two journal articles have been accepted for publication, one in Food Science & Nutrition and another in Food Protection Trends. A thesis defense on the work is scheduled for late December 2014. These activities are addressing safe food handling by consumers and prevention of major illnesses such as botulism food poisoning. The majority of foodborne botulism cases in the U.S. are from foods improperly processed in the home. In 2012, CDC initiated a home canning website oriented to avoiding botulism from home canning due to recent cases. Recent estimates from a study released in 2010 by PEW Charitable Trusts put the cost a case of botulism at $726,362. Objective 1: To continue to support educators in the national Cooperative Extension System, home food preservers, the media and other educators through expansion and maintenance of the NCHFP website. Popularity of the National Center for Home Food Preservation website, www.homefoodpreservation.com, continues to grow and can be documented by analyses of traffic, as well as individual email contacts. Usage statistics indicate that the website received 2.38 million visits in this reporting period, from over 1.82 million unique visitors, viewing 4.6 million pages. Visits per month from September 2013 through August 2014 ranged from 97,475 (Feb) to 544,283 (Aug). Visits per day range from 2,588 (Feb 14) to 24,149 (Aug 24). A linked blog started in November 2012 received 59,748 views from September 2013 through August 2014. During this time period, 24 new entries were posted and the blog received an average of 163 views per day. The on-line self-study, Preserving Food at Home, from the NCFHP remains popular also, with enrollment increasing by 2,605 this year.191 completed the post-study evaluation form. Pages on the website were updated regarding advice for preventing botulism in home canning of vegetables, pre-sterilizing jars, and related topics. The curriculum, PUT IT UP! Food Preservation for Youth, was published on the website in August. Individual requests from around the country were handled through email, fax and phone throughout every month; these are responses to the public, media and Extension educators. Objective 2: To develop, pilot test and evaluate a series of six lesson plans for teaching food preservation and related food safety concepts to youth in nonformal, Extension-type programming such as 4-H clubs, after school programs and summer enrichment programs. Pilot testing of the youth food preservation curriculum by University of Georgia and Clemson University that began in June 2013 was completed. Data were analyzed and used in revisions in this current reporting period. The revised curriculum was voluntarily reviewed by Extension educators in South Carolina, Georgia and Nebraska. The final version was published in August on the NCFHP website where it is advertised on the homepage. It was also advertised to (1) a national listserv of Extension food safety professionals maintained by NIFA-USDA, (2) a national listserv of food and nutrition educators from various fields, and (3) the listserv for the National Association of State Administrators of Family and Consumer Sciences. A request form to collect information about potential users and their intended use of the curriculum is accessed from the NCFHP website. After completion of the form, a password is presented for accessing the electronic curriculum files. Objective 3: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the safety of atmospheric steam canners for processing of acid foods. The University of Wisconsin atmospheric steam canner process development study has completed steam distribution and venting studies in the Back to Basics Steam Canner and Victorio Dual Use Canner (as a boiling water canner). Products have been selected for process development: tomato juice, applesauce, cranberries in heavy syrup and a chocolate-raspberry sauce. Preliminary heat penetration studies were completed in February 2014 and a manuscript on this work was submitted (and later accepted) by Food Science & Nutrition. This manuscript evaluated the importance of cold-spot and thermal process calculations in home food processing. Subsequently, heat penetration studies and process lethality calculations were conducted at the cold spot of each of the four products in an atmospheric steam canner and a boiling water canner. This information was summarized in a journal article for Food Protection Trends and it has been accepted for publication, Objective 4: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the performance of a reusable plastic canning lid in the marketplace. Laboratory work in processing jars for the University of Georgia study comparing three types of home canning lids used on pint jars was completed in summer 2013. Metal, plastic and glass lids were used for hot pack apples, crushed tomatoes, raw pack carrots and hot pack carrots. Jars in storage were analyzed into summer 2014. The graduate student thesis was defended in March 2014 using data through 3 months storage. A journal article will be prepared using all storage data.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Andress, E.L., Harrison, J.A., Harrison, M.A. (2014). National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Poster session presented at: NIFSI Project Directors Meeting, NIFA-USDA, Washington, D.C.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Christian, K. and Barefoot, S. (2014). Put It Up! Food Preservation for Youth. Athens, Georgia: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Electronic files available from http://nchfp.uga.edu
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Andress, E.L., ed. (2014). National Center for Home Food Preservation. 2004-present. Website located at http://nchfp.uga.edu
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Christian, K.A. and Andress, E.L. (2014). Preserving Food at Home. 2012-present, Blog located at http://preservingfoodathome.com/
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Christian, K.A. and Andress, E.L. (2014) Burning Issue: Pre-Sterilizing Jars Before Canning. Athens, GA: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Located at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/sterilizing.htmltsheets/electric_cookers.html
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Christian, K.A. and Andress, E.L. (2014). Burning Issue: Green Beans and Botulism. Athens, GA: National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. Located at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/greenbeans.html.


Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Extension educators and master volunteers nationwide, home farmers and gardeners, general public both nationally and internationally, media, industry professionals and food entrepreneurs interested in starting a processing business. For the youth curriculum pilot testing: County Extension educators in SC and GA including Felicia Cunningham, Samantha Chadwick, Angela Forbes, Margie Sippel, Christine Patrick, Gayle Williford and Rhonda Matthews from Clemson University.Rachel Hubbard, Christa Campbell, Nancy Bridges, Cindee Sweda, Rebecca Thomas, and Denise Everson from University of Georgia. For youth curriculum focus group participation, state and county Extension faculty also included Julie Albrecht, University of Nebraska, Jenna Anding, Texas A&M University, Lori Pivarnik, Univ. of Rhode Island and Sandra McCurdy, Iowa State University. For the webinar, most attendees were educators, and all but a few included those in positions of Cooperative Extension Agent, Cooperative Extension Coordinator, County Extension Director, FCS Program Coordinator, Extension Faculty, Extension Specialist, Specialist Assistant, Health and Human Science Educator, Nutrition Educator, and Master Food Preserver. They report being individuals seeking the latest information about home food preservation research and products, as well as resources and knowledge about safe practices in home food preservation to share with consumers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A public free webinar, History, Science and Current Practice in Home Food Preservation, was presented in February 2013 with the intent of reaching consumers. However, most attendees (first-come, first-taken from a self registration process) included educators who were all, but for a few, working at a University and/or for Cooperative Extension; they report seeking the latest information about home food preservation research and products, as well as resources and knowledge about safe practices in home food preservation to share with consumers.Attendees included those in positions of Cooperative Extension Agent, Cooperative Extension Coordinator, County Extension Director, FCS Program Coordinator, Extension Faculty, Extension Specialist, Specialist Assistant, Health and Human Science Educator, Nutrition Educator, and Master Food Preserver. They report being individuals seeking the latest information about home food preservation research and products, as well as resources and knowledge about safe practices in home food preservation to share with consumers. The recording is available through a link at nchfp.uga.edu, the National Center for HFP website, and anyone seeking training for oneself or as an educator of others is allowed to access it. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Progress on research with the atmospheric steam canner was presented as a paper, and in graduate student competition, at the annual meeting of the International Association for Food Protection, Charlotte, NC, in July 2013. The public resources available through the National Center are made available through its website, located at nchfp.uga.edu. Dr. Andress also provides interviews to various news writers for magazines, websites, and newspapers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Objective 1: Continue reviewing and updating the NCFHP website, with more attentiongiven to resources for media. Two additional webinars will be organized and offered. Continue the Preserving Food at Home blog. Objective 2: The lesson plans for youth will be edited using suggestions from the pilot test group leaders. The package will be finalized and offered to other organizations through the NCHFP website in spring 2014. Objective 3: Collect, analyze and summarize the results of heat penetration data in the atmospheric steam canner usingtomato juice, applesauce, cranberries in heavy syrup and a chocolate-raspberry sauce.A masters student thesis will be written, defended and published. Results will be shared with scientific communities and submission of a refereed journal article. Objective 4: Date from research to evaluate the performance of a reusable plastic home canning lid will be analyzed and summarized.A masters thesis will be written, defended and published. Results will be sharedwith scientific communitiesvia a national conference presentationand submission of a refereed journal article.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In 2012-2013, the National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation continued outreach through a website and added a new blog to its efforts which has quickly increased in popularity. A public webinar on activities of the Center was taught live and also recorded for later viewing by website visitors. Significant progress was made on developing and pilot testing a series of six lesson plans on food preservation suitable for youth audiences. Applied research continued on heating studies with an atmospheric steam canner and sealing studies with a marketplace plastic home canning lid. These activities are addressing safe food handling by consumers and prevention of major illnesses such as botulism food poisoning. The majority of foodborne botulism cases in the U.S. are from foods improperly processed in the home. In 2012, CDC initiated a home canning website oriented to avoiding botulism from home canning due to recent cases. Recent estimates from a study released in 2010 by PEW Charitable Trusts put the cost a case of botulism at $726,362. Objective 1: To continue to support educators in the national Cooperative Extension System, home food preservers, the media and other educators through expansion and maintenance of the NCHFP website. Popularity of the National Center for Home Food Preservation website, www.homefoodpreservation.com, continues to grow and can be documented by analyses of traffic, as well as individual email contacts. Usage statistics indicate that the website received 2.09 million visits in this reporting period, from over 1.6 million unique visitors, viewing 4.6 million pages. Visits per month from September 2012 through August 2013 ranged from 98,848 (Dec) to 451,170 (Aug). Visits per day range from 2,466 (Dec 24) to 12,737 (Aug 23). A new linked blog was started in November 2012; it received about 26,000 views through August 2013. Monthly views have steadily increased to 8,444 per month in August. The on-line self-study, Preserving Food at Home, from the NCFHP remains popular also, with enrollment increasing by about 2600 per year. Pages on the website were updated regarding advice for home canning soups, salsa, acidifying tomatoes for canning, resources for starting a home preserved foods business, preserving apples and preserving venison. Individual requests from around the country were handled through email, fax and phone throughout every month; these are responses to the public, media and Extension educators. A public webinar, History, Science and Current Practice in Home Food Preservation, was presented in February 2013. The 130-minute presentation included a thorough question and answer period. Most attendees were educators, and all but a few work at a University and/or for Cooperative Extension; they report seeking the latest information about home food preservation research and products, as well as resources and knowledge about safe practices in home food preservation to share with consumers. Impact was determined through pre- and post-tests. The recording is available through a link at nchfp.uga.edu. Pre- and post-tests used with the public webinar, History, Science and Current Practice in Home Food Preservation, in February 2013, indicate that participants gained knowledge about the scientific principles and practices recommended for canning. Two of the most significant increases occurred in knowledge about the reason for venting pressure canners and adjusting process times for large jars. Pre-tests (n=119) show that only 62% correctly understood why USDA procedures require venting or exhausting air from a pressure canner, whereas 96% correctly answered the same question on the post-test (n=47). At the post-test, 98% knew it is not correct to use a formula for increasing process times when jar size exceeds tested procedures while only 84% knew the correct answer at the pre-test. The post-knowledge test also indicated that more participants knew correct answers about inactivating the botulinal toxin, identifying low-acid foods for canning purposes, and that type of pressure canner used makes a difference in the safety of the canning process after the webinar than before. However, it is also evident that knowledge within the group still needs improvement about some of these issues, such as Clostridium botulinum spore outgrowth, inactivating the toxin, identifying low-acid foods for canning, and the importance of pressure canner type. The webinar also improved the percentage of participants indicating familiarity with the National Center for Home Preservation and its resources. Objective 2: To develop, pilot test and evaluate a series of six lesson plans for teaching food preservation and related food safety concepts to youth in nonformal, Extension-type programming such as 4-H clubs, after school programs and summer enrichment programs. The youth food preservation curriculum was piloted by University of Georgia and Clemson University. A teleconference was held to orient county agents in South Carolina and Georgia on June 3, 2013. Twenty-two classes have been taught among 9 agents between the two states as of August 2013. Feedback from county educators is being collected via print forms and orally; findings are being summarized to guide revisions and final curriculum. Objective 3: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the safety of atmospheric steam canners for processing of acid foods. The University of Wisconsin atmospheric steam canner process development study has completed steam distribution and venting studies in the Back to Basics Steam Canner and Victorio Dual Use Canner (as a boiling water canner). Products have been selected for process development: tomato juice, applesauce, cranberries in heavy syrup and a chocolate-raspberry sauce. Methods for cold spot determination and heat penetration data collection are being finalized. A paper on the venting and steam distribution results was presented at IAFP in July 2013. Objective 4: Through original laboratory research, evaluate the performance of a reusable plastic canning lid in the marketplace. Laboratory work in processing jars for the University of Georgia study comparing three types of home canning lids used on pint jars was completed in summer 2013. Jars in storage will still be analyzed into fall 2013 and spring 2014. Metal, plastic and glass lids were used for hot pack apples, crushed tomatoes, raw pack carrots and hot pack carrots. Sealing rate, headspace measurements and fill weights are being quantified for all lids; vacuum levels are being measured for plastic and metal lids. Color changes in storage are being measured by a Hunter colorimeter for all foods.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ixta, P.F.V., Andress, E.L., Etzel, M. and Ingham, B. 2013. Comparative Study: Steam and Boiling Water Canners for Home Processing of High Acid Foods. Paper PI-89. Presented at International Association for Food Protection, Charlotte, NC. Abstract published at: https://www.foodprotection.org/downloads/library/2013-abstract-book.pdf
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Andress, E.L., et al. 2002-present. National Center for Home Food Preservation website located at nchfp.uga.edu
  • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Christian, K. 2012-present. Preserving Food at Home. Blog located at http://preservingfoodathome.com/
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: National Center for Home Food Preservation. 2013. Choice Salsa. Original home canning procedure. Published at: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/ChoiceSalsa_framedweb_Sept2013.pdf


Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Popularity of the National Center website, www.homefoodpreservation.com, continues to grow and be documented. Usage statistics indicate that the website received 1.69 million visits in this reporting period, from over 1.32 million unique visitors, viewing 4.4 million pages. Visits per month from September 2011 through August 2012 ranged from 79,686 to 292,339. Visits per day range from 1,624 (Dec) to 12,141 (August). The on-line self-study, Preserving Food at Home, from the NCFHP remains popular also. The number of enrolled participants increased by 2,664 in 2011. The total is now over now over 11,500. Four pages on the website were updated to reflect current resources and recommendations. Individual requests from around the country were handled through email, fax and phone throughout every month; these are responses to the public, media and Extension educators. A teleconference focus group seeking input for the youth curriculum was organized and conducted by Clemson in May 2012. Participants represented Extension state or county faculty from Nebraska, Texas, Missouri, Idaho, Wisconsin, Colorado, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Georgia. Topics discussed included target audience ages, age-appropriate hands-on activities for food preservation topics, experiences in previous youth classes taught by the participants, format and length of lessons. Youth food preservation materials from other states have been identified and will be reviewed. A new Project Assistant was hired (after two rounds of advertisement and interviews) and will begin October 1, 2012. She will first be charged with reviewing and updating the website holdings, studying USDA food preservation recommendations, and working on the youth curriculum with Clemson University. University of Wisconsin hired a graduate assistant to study atmospheric steam canner process development. Canners were researched and two were selected for data collection: Back to Basics Steam Canner and Victorio Dual Use Canner. Study methods are in development and plans are to conduct steam distribution studies and determine vent time needs prior to conducting heating studies with foods. A graduate assistant was hired beginning August 2012 to conduct the comparison studies of home canning lids at the University of Georgia. Prior to this, preliminary experimentation was conducted with one of the lids not yet used by the project team to this point. Two types of products were canned to gain familiarity. Plans were made for the study methods and equipment needed. The Center participated in a national NIFSI project directors meeting in July 2012 and presented information about the project. PARTICIPANTS: Participants: For focus group on youth curriculum: Susan Barefoot, Angela Forbes, Christine Patrick, Margie Sippel, Gayle Williford from Clemson University; Elizabeth Andress, Judy Harrison, Cindee Sweda, Rebecca Thomas from University of Georgia; Lori Pivarnik, Nicole Richard from University of Rhode Island; Barbara Ingham, University of Wisconsin, Lesly Scott, County of Dane, WI; Marisa Bunning, Mary Schroeder from Colorado State University; Tammy Roberts from University of Missouri; Sandy McCurdy, Grace Whitman from University of Idaho. Training Opportunities: (1) Andress, E.L. 2012. Current Science and Practice in Food Home Preservation. Webinar for the Institute of Food Technologists. 195 registered; 123 in attendance live. Distance technology. August 1. 90 minutes. (2) Andress, E.L. 2011. The Basics of Home Canning. Webinar for the USDA People's Garden Initiative. About 100; general public and White House Master Gardeners. Distance technology. October 5. 1 hour. (3) Andress, E.L. 2011. Safe Canning at Home. Demonstration and presentation, Sunbelt Ag Expo (Georgia, Florida, Alabama), about 23 general public audience. Moultrie, GA. October 20. 1 hour. (4) Webinars that will be advertised by the NCHFPP are in the planning stage. TARGET AUDIENCES: Extension educators and master volunteers nationwide, home farmers and gardeners, general public both nationally and internationally, media, industry professionals and food entrepreneurs interested in starting a processing business. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None at this time.

Impacts
At this time, documented outcome impacts are in usage rates of resources. Knowledge and intended behavior change will be assessed when webinars begin in year two. Registered participants in the online self-study, Preserving Food at Home, complete four pre- and post-tests as they progress through the course. 207 submitted evaluations in 2011. Average pre- and post-test scores remain at about 70 and 90 percent. Doing an online search for the term food preservation brings up the NCHFP website within the first 1-2 links using different search engines (Google, Yahoo, Lycos, Bing, AOL). The URL (http://nchfp.uga.edu) appears in 37,100 pages in sites indexed by Google, 9,750 pages in Yahoo indexing, and 9,910 pages in Bing indexing.

Publications

  • Andress, E.L. (2012). Home Canning: Keep Your Family Safe! Foodsafety.gov blog article, September. At http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/home_canning.html.
  • Andress, E.L., Harrison, J.A. and Harrison, M.A. (2012). National Center for Home Food Preservation 2011-2014. Paper presented at NIFSI Project Directors meeting, Providence, RI. July 21.
  • Date, K. A., Fagan, R., Crossland, S., MacEachern, D., Pyper, B., Bokanyi, R., Houze, Y., Andress, E. L., Tauxe, R. V. (2011). Three outbreaks of foodborne botulism caused by unsafe home-canning of vegetables-Ohio and Washington, 2008-2009. J. of Food Protection, 74(12), 2090-2096.
  • National Center for Home Food Preservation. (2012). Resources for starting your own preserved foods business: Can I sell my home preserved food Athens, GA: University of Georgia, National Center for Home Food Preservation. At http://nchfp.uga.edu/business/starting_business.html.