NEW “Controlling Food Allergens in the Plant” training program.
Homewood, IL – November 11, 2004 – “Controlling Food Allergens in the Plant,” a new employee training program developed by Silliker, Inc. and the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) at the University of Nebraska, delivers the most current industry knowledge to help companies enhance their in-plant allergen training sessions.

An effective employee training program can help prevent these serious problems. The comprehensive Silliker-FARRP training program video visually communicates allergen-specific Good Manufacturing Practices – from checking raw material receipt to formulation to cleaning and sanitation practices. To facilitate discussions about plant specific programs, the video is divided into sections and includes questions to help create a customized training session.

The video is accompanied by a CD, which contains the Instructor Guide, reproducible employee workbook, 15-question quiz and attendance sheet. By using the materials on the CD, managers can expand the program with plant-specific information and print quantities for each training session.

In 2004, after many conversations with food industry executives, Silliker Education Services and FARRP began working together to develop a new employee training program to assist the food industry. The new video and materials combine FARRP’s technical expertise in allergen control issues and Silliker experience in employee training video production. The new program will help supervisors and managers communicate key principles and practices to employees to improve the effectiveness of their in-plant allergen control programs.

FARRP

Headquartered at the University of Nebraska, the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) is the preeminent food allergen testing, consulting and research organization in the United States.  Among other services, FARRP provides technical consultation and educational conferences on food allergens for the food industry.

SILLIKER, INC.

With 25 labs in 10 countries, Silliker, Inc. provides consulting, testing, auditing, research and training services that help ensure food safety and nutrition worldwide. Silliker is recognized for its expertise in providing recommendations that help identify operational problems, anticipate areas of concern, and institute practical controls associated with food safety and quality risks.

FARRP Perspective on Industry Training Needs

Over the past 10 years, FARRP experts have conducted numerous allergen training programs at manufacturer locations on topics including allergen control strategies.  According to Sue Hefle, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Co-Director of FARRP, most companies face common challenges in maintaining effective allergen control during receiving, storage, formulation, processing and packaging operations.

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Companies can choose from an extensive library of online courses that draw from technical content developed for the FDA as well as additional food safety and quality courses that also address USDA regulated products. As part of the online solution, food companies will have access to EduNeering’s online courses created by the FDA.

The partnership is introducing a core curriculum in English and Spanish for operations employees on topics including: Principles of HACCP, Employee Hygiene, Avoiding Microbial Cross-Contamination, Controlling Food Allergens, and Sanitation. In addition, Silliker and EduNeering will work with companies to develop company and process specific courses that meet their unique needs.

"Food companies operating in multiple locations struggle with the challenge of delivering consistent information and education programs to multiple levels of employees. This solution is particularly valuable to these companies in which large groups of employees and contractors are required to demonstrate competence in areas critical to business success and organizational objectives," said C.J. Reynolds, Director of Education Services Division for Silliker.

" We are delighted to join with Silliker to improve employee performance in the food industry," said EduNeering President and CEO Donald A. Deieso, Ph.D. "As we go forward, we expect food companies will increasingly turn to us to ensure that their entire workforce is comprehensively trained, qualified, and informed as an integral part of overall cost reduction, manufacturing quality and performance enhancement."

EduNeering Executive Vice President Janice McFarland at the joint press conference held in conjunction with the Food Safety Summit added, "We are sure that, together with Silliker, we will provide a complete food safety and quality learning solution to companies who understand how employee proficiency can impact investor confidence, consumer trust and the bottom line."

The rapidly deployable technology component of the Silliker/EduNeering solution can interface with any existing document, process or data management system.

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(WWW.SILLIKER.COM) (WWW.EDUNEERING.COM)

Silliker, headquartered in Homewood, IL, provides consulting, testing, auditing, research and training services that help ensure food safety and nutrition worldwide. Silliker is recognized for its expertise in providing recommendations that help identify operational problems, anticipate areas of concern and institute practical controls associated with food safety and quality risks. With 27 locations in 11 countries, Silliker serves companies in 76 percent of the global food market. For the past three decades, the company has been a leading training provider to the food industry through public short courses, training videos, and customized training programs. Since 1985, Silliker has sold over 15,000 training videos and conducted customized training programs for leading processors, retailers, and foodservice companies in North America and Europe. (www.silliker.com)

EduNeering specializes in working with regulated companies to create comprehensive, online solutions for quality and compliance management as part of enterprise commitments to best practices. EduNeering has provided comprehensive knowledge management solutions for more than 250 of the world’s leading food, pharmaceutical, healthcare, medical device, energy and general manufacturing companies, including nine of the Forbes Top 100, six of the Fortune Top 100 and six of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies. The FDA itself has chosen EduNeering to provide its learning technology solution. Through this partnership EduNeering offers the courses developed by and provided to the FDA to industry. EduNeering, in business for over 24 years, is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, and maintains offices in Houston, TX, Bloomsburg, PA, and in the UK. (www.eduneering.com)

For more information contact: John Williams Jr., SILLIKER, Inc.  708-957-7878 or, Tia Smallwood, EduNeering, 609/ 627 5379

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