BILOXI, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering a three-day food safety course for food industry personnel.

This course, developed by the Food Safety Preventative Controls Alliance (FSPCA) in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration, will be May 23-24 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 25 from 8 a.m. to noon. The Coastal Research and Extension Center will host the event at 1815 Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi.

The course is designed for food safety professionals, wholesalers, quality assurance managers, Extension agents and maintenance managers.

Course topics include biological food safety hazards, resources for food safety plans, process preventative controls and sanitation preventative controls. Participants will receive official FSPCA Preventative Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) certificates of completion.

This course is offered in response to a new regulation that requires facilities to have an employee with PCQI certification. This credential certifies that the person has successfully completed FDA-approved training in the development and application of risk-based preventive controls.

Attendance for the event is limited to 15 students, and space is available on a first-paid/first-registered basis. Cost of the course is $120 per student, which includes a certificate of completion, a book and refreshments.

To register, contact Randy Cooker at ryc4@ra.msstate.edu.