Sarah Murphy is in her first year as a graduate student at Cornell University, working in the Milk Quality Improvement Program. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology, with a concentration in Dairy Science and minors in Microbiology and Systems Engineering. While originally from Massachusetts, she graduated from Bates College in 2014 with a B.S. in Biological Chemistry, and worked in quality assurance at an HTST fluid milk plant for two years in Montana before starting graduate school. She is currently working on a collaborative project with the University of Minnesota, investigating the relationship between farm bedding management practices and the presence of meso- and thermophilic sporeformers in raw milk. She is also deeply involved in the Voluntary Shelf Life program, working directly with New York State dairy processing facilities to recognize and mitigate milk quality issues. Overall, she is interested in examining existing quality management systems, in order to identify opportunities for developing and implementing programs with the intent to promote lasting improvements to milk quality in New York and beyond.

Milk Quality Improvement Program and Voluntary Shelf-Life Program

By: Sarah Murphy

The Milk Quality Improvement Program (MQIP) formed at Cornell University in 1964, as a result of a survey that revealed more than 50% of milk samples in New York State (NYS) were worthy of “customer complaint” within seven days of processing. Results from a subsequent study published in 1972 related poor milk quality to the need for improvements in quality control at milk processing facilities. As such, the Voluntary Shelf-Life (VSL) Program was initiated in 1979, funded by the Milk Promotion Board, with the goal of monitoring and improving milk quality in NYS. Since then, pasteurized fluid milk quality has improved in NYS and as of today, 26 fluid milk plants participate in the VSL program. However, extending milk shelf-life by controlling milk spoilage organisms remains a challenge and the MQIP works to better understand milk spoilage caused by post-pasteurization contamination and spore-forming bacteria.

Rooted in the MQIP, the overall mission of the VSL program is to improve milk quality in NYS by monitoring the quality and shelf-life of fluid milk products through microbiological, chemical, and sensory evaluation. The VSL program is open to all pasteurized fluid milk plants in NYS. The program requires participating plants to submit sets of milk samples, representing the freshest products available, including the major types of milk (i.e., whole, 2%, 1%, and skim). Plants submit “core” samples (minimum of one half-gallon), “school-milk” samples (half-pints), and samples representing other product lines/fillers. Milk samples are collected two times a year and are tested over shelf-life. At the end of each year of sample evaluation, the results are used to determine recipients of the gold and silver honors in the annual Dairy Products Competition at the New York State Fair.

In addition to testing milk samples, the VSL program matches participating plants with representatives from the VSL Field Team; the field representative offers feedback to plants on the quality of their products and when requested, assists in improving and maintaining quality through on-site visits. The team uses the milk sample testing results combined with observations made during visits, in order to offer reasonable advice for mitigating immediate quality issues, as well as offering advice for long-term improvements. Members of the VSL Field Team include: Anika Zuber (Northern NY Regional Dairy Processing and Marketing Specialist), Carl Moody (Western NY Regional Dairy Processing Specialist), Rob Ralyea (Sr. Extension Associate), Alexander “Sandy” Alles (Lab Technician), and Sarah Murphy (Graduate Research Assistant).

The dairy foods extension team had a busy year. Between conducting our core training courses and delivering the FSPCA Preventive Controls for Qualified Individuals training, we saw an increase in attendance for our programs. While many of our courses are conducted on campus, we delivered 11 on-site courses at different facilities this past year. These on-site trainings contributed to a total of 38 courses conducted in 2016. These programs provided us with a grand total of over 1200 attendees, 715 hours of training, and over 23,770 contact hours.

Our relationships with other universities and organizations continue to grow. We are happy to report that in June, we connected with our partners at Oregon State University to conduct our 2^nd Dairy Science and Sanitation Course in Oregon. We view these types of partnership as being a critical part of delivering on our mission: to help farmers, business owners, and consumers in New York State and beyond to produce safe, healthy, and wholesome foods. In this day in age, commerce does not stop at state lines, and by building relationships with other Universities and organizations, we are assisting in the production of safe, healthy and wholesome dairy foods for the entire dairy industry.

When we look into 2017, we will continue to work with individual facilities to meet their training needs and coordinate on-site workshops. We will also build new relationships and continue to foster existing relationships with our partner organizations in order combine our resources and help the dairy industry to the best of our ability. If you have any questions about our programming or would like information regarding on-site training, please contact lmf226@cornell.edu.

Food Safety Planning for 2017: Kim Bukowski

As 2016 draws to a close, it is time to think about your Food Safety Plan (HACCP) for 2017 and whether or not it needs to be updated. Some of you are probably reading this saying to yourself or your coworker, what is she talking about? We have a very fine Food Safety Plan that is working well, but maybe not.

When is the last time it was reviewed? Have you made any changes? If it hasn’t been looked at in a year, it is time.

Have you updated it to meet the new FSMA regulations?

Have you reviewed your plan to add Preventive Controls? Do you know what Preventive Controls are? Have you or someone in your organization been to Preventive Control Training or have you read Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulation Part 117 – cGMP, Hazard Analysis and Risk-based Preventive Controls for Human Food? It’s time to become knowledgeable about FSMA.

Whether you fall into the size facility that could be audited today or tomorrow by FDA or you are smaller and think that you have time to work on it. No time is better than the present. Even if you are a small operation, you probably will have a supplier request that you have a 3^rd party audit in order to supply them which would include a Food Safety Plan. Or you may have a customer that is required to follow the regulations and they will have an Approved Supplier program that you would like to be a part of. You will need a Food Safety Plan in order to be in their Approved Supplier Program.

The other changes that we will see in 2017 will be a new Version 8 of the SQF code. The new version will be posted for public comment in the new year. After the changes to the code has been made final, all suppliers will have 6 months before they will be audited against the new code.

So let’s get back to the review of your Food Safety Program (HACCP) and discuss some of the items that may need to be added or improved upon. All of the items listed are required in your food safety plan by FDA and SQF. Why, because if you don’t have these programs in place, you could have a problem that may cause a food safety hazard.

1. Allergen Program
2. Environmental Monitoring Program
3. Sanitation Program
4. Approved Supplier Program
5. Recall Plan

In the next editions of this newsletter I will address each of these programs in more detail, so please stay tuned.

Make sure that you do not leave out a documented Training program that includes training on your food safety plan so that it can be implemented and followed to achieve a safe, quality product in the new year.

If you would like help with the training, please visit our calendar for all our scheduled trainings at Cornell. https://dairyextension.foodscience.cornell.edu/calendar

Have a happy new year and promote Food Safety!

On October 26^th, Harvest New York members Carl Moody, Mackenzie Waro and Anika Zuber hosted a booth at the New York Association for Training and Employment Professionals (NYATEP) Annual 2016 Fall Conference Event, A Skilled New York: The Intersection of Higher Education, Economic & Workforce Development. ​ NYATEP is New York’s workforce organization, and their annual conference is attended by many workforce development stakeholders such as one-stop career centers, community colleges, BOCES programs and workforce development organizations. New York State food companies were invited to host a booth at the conference’s reception and speak to their needs for a skilled workforce to aid in producing safe, wholesome and high quality foods. A variety of sessions at the fall conference focused on education professionals collaborating with select industries in order to develop programs that procure a prepared and skilled workforce.

The food and beverage industry in New York is at a point where connecting with organizations and individuals such as the above mentioned are key. Cornell, Harvest New York and NYATEP worked collaboratively to release a, “Food and Beverage Manufacturing in the Empire State Chart Book” which includes regional profiles of labor demographics and supply throughout New York. Just over 30% of all workers in New York have no college education, and in Food and Beverage manufacturing that number is 44%. The Baby Boomer generation will begin aging out of the workforce and as a result, their work will be taken over by Generation X and Millennials. It is projected that Millennials will be the largest working cohort group in the coming years, and as an industry we need to be prepared to attract and educate this sector of the workforce. In several regions, Millennials have already become the largest population segment in food and beverage manufacturing. For more information, please see the link below to review the Food and Beverage Manufacturing in the Empire State chart book.

https://pad.human.cornell.edu/papers/downloads/FoodBevManuf.pdf

STEVEN MURPHY RETIRES FROM CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Steven C. Murphy joined the Department of Food Science as a research technician following graduation from Cornell in 1979.  He specialized in Dairy Chemistry and microbiology, joining the extension team in 1991 to manage the statewide milk quality shelf-life program.  Through his sampling and remedial activities the flavor and keeping quality improved substantially.  He was promoted to Senior Extension Associate in 2003, (a faculty level rank) a position he held until the time of his retirement this summer.  In addition to his Bachelor of Science in Microbiology (1979), Steve earned a Masters Degree in Food Science (1997), both from Cornell University.

Over the years, Steve has been an active member of many professional societies.  They include, the New York and International Associations for Food Protection, National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments, National Mastitis Council, and the Dairy Practices Council.   His editorial activities included serving on the editorial board of Food Protection Trends and participating in invited reviews for the Journal of Dairy Science.

Steve received many awards and recognition.  Most recently, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Milk Control Director’s award (in recognition of dedication and appreciation for service to the Dairy Industry, and the Division of Milk Control) He also received the highest awards from the New York State Association for Food Protection, the Dairy Practices Council, the Future Farmers of America and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell.

While Steve retires from Cornell University after 37 years of dedicated service, he will keep his relationship with the Dairy Industry at the highest level.  This fall he will move on to become Executive Vice President of the Dairy Practices Council, a national organization dedicated to bringing uniformity to dairy standards and regulations throughout the United States.

DKB

2017 Training Opportunities

Our dairy extension program focuses on supporting the production of safe and high quality dairy products with specific expertise in microbial spoilage and food safety issues. Our program offers an extensive set of workshops that lead to certificates in fluid milk production, cheese production, membrane filtration and separation, and production of other fermented dairy products.

Many of our course offerings are available both on-campus for a mixed classroom experience allowing participants to network with others in the dairy industry, as well as on-site for a more plant-specific training experience. Both types of courses allow participants to concentrate on specific topics pertinent to the industry with case studies and exercises designed to apply knowledge. Core courses within our program are offered in a multi-modal format, with 4-6 hours of on-line lecture-based content allowing for more a more hands-on focused campus experience.

Current Certificate Program enrollees may verify their course progress with Program Coordinator, Louise Felker via email at lmf226@cornell.edu. Dairy Extension course credits may also be applied to in-plant Continuing Education programs.

The 2017 training calendar is available on the Dairy Extension website and includes trainings delivered in Ithaca as well as partner courses with Oregon State University and the other organizations. To further meet industry need, multiple courses focusing on Preventive Controls for Human Food Qualified Individual will continue to be offered in 2017. This course is also available as an on-site training for an entire workforce. A course catalogue with detailed descriptions of our Dairy Foods Certificate Program and the associated coursework will be available in December 2016.

Cornell University Returns to Compete in Dairy Products Sensory Competition

After more than 30 years in hiatus, the Cornell Dairy Products Sensory Evaluation (DPSE) Team participated in the Regional DPSE Competition.   Cornell University was one of nine universities present at the 45^th Midwest Regional Collegiate Dairy Products Sensory Evaluation Judging Contest held on October 22^nd at The Kraft Heinz Company in Glenview, IL.

Established in 1916 by several universities, the Collegiate Dairy Product Evaluation Contest initially was designed to identify quality defects in dairy products throughout the country so they could be corrected. It expanded over the years to recognize those students and dairy product judging teams that had mastered the ability to identify high-quality dairy products. The contest gives students the opportunity to showcase their evaluation skills and prepare for careers in the dairy industry.

Students tested their palates against professional judges in six different dairy products; fluid milk, butter, yogurt, cheddar cheese, ice cream and cottage cheese. To begin, judges reviewed eight representative samples of the six different dairy products and render judgments on each of dozens of possible attributes and the severity of their departure from the ideal. Students were then challenged to present scorecards with answers that are compared to the judgments of the experts.

The Regional DPSE Competition was a great opportunity for the students to showcase their dairy products evaluation skills and compete with other Universities as: South Dakota State (the winner for the last 9 years), Iowa State, U. of Wisconsin, U. of Tennessee, U of Minnesota, U. of Missouri, Clemson and Michigan State University. The competition was intense, and amounted to 6 grueling hours of exhaustive dairy product evaluation!

The Cornell University DPSE Team was reduced in size from the full team of 5, to 3 so had no chance to win the overall competition.  Team members Thomas Reis (undergraduate), Ana Chang and Sofia Lara (both graduate students) were our representatives having trained in the different dairy products since the start of the fall semester.  The team was accompanied to Chicago by the Team Coach Carmela Beliciu.

L-R:  Sofia Lara, Ana Chang and Thomas Reis.

As previously mentioned, without a full team present, overall team honors were unattainable for the Cornell team, however individual performance in each category was rewarded.  We are proud to announce that in our inaugural year and with only 2 months of training under their belts, our students represented Cornell University well.   Our students placed as follows:

1. Ana Chang – 2^nd place in the Yogurt category for Graduate Students
2. Sofia Lara – 3^rd place in the Milk category for Graduate Students
3. Thomas Reis – 5^th place in the Milk category and overall 13^th rank out of 27 Undergraduate students.

The regional event was a great learning experience for our team and team advisors here at Cornell.  We now know what to expect as the format was a little unclear to us going in.  We’re confident this event will help us be much better prepared for the National Dairy Products Evaluation Competition in April.

We would like to gratefully acknowledge and thank those who have financially supported this program to date:

• Great Lakes Cheese
• The 1,200 farm families of Agrimark/Cabot/McCadam
• Northeast Dairy Foods Association Boosters
• Northeast Dairy Foods Association Board of Directors

We appreciate all the industry professionals who supported our program with hands-on training, sharing their knowledge and time to teach our students the secrets of dairy products evaluation.

We are always looking for volunteers who are experts at dairy product sensory evaluation to train students.  Since this is funded by industry donations currently, any donations to support the program forward are also deeply appreciated.  It is our goal, with industry help to put Cornell University back on the map in dairy sensory evaluation.  If you would like to support this program either with a monetary donation or as a training volunteer, feel free to contact Rob Ralyea at rdr10@cornell.edu or Carmela Beliciu at clb352@cornell.edu.  We’d love to hear from you and talk about this exciting program!