Education
members, and industry leaders through scholarships and recruiting at local universities.
Scholarships
We sponsor annual scholarships for students to attend South Dakota State University, the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, or the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. All you need to qualify is an interest in a career in the cheese industry!
Continuing Education
Whether you’re new to the industry or an experienced professional, the NCCIA helps you enhance your skills with continuing education through workshops, seminars, and hands-on training.
Recruiting
NCCIA is an active sponsor of efforts to recruit talented high school students to a dairy-related degree program. Contact us to learn more.
Workshops
The basics of dairy plant sanitation provides cheese and whey plant operators with a basic understanding of dairy plant sanitation. Workshop topics include: Fundamentals of cleaning and sanitation, prerequisite programs, GMP’s, SSOP’s, and the sanitary design and construction of equipment. Laboratory sessions will focus on plant audits. Instructors will allow students to examine pilot plant equipment and recognize typical designs and installations that are particularly problematic for sanitary operating conditions of plants. A final exam will certify a students’ successful completion of the class.
This course is offered at the University of Minnesota as two-day course.
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a proactive and preventative food safety management program that deals with understanding possible hazards in ingredients, the environment, and process. It assures food safety by eliminating or controlling the potential hazards at critical control points in a food manufacturing process.
Proper design and implementation of HACCP enhances food safety and effective use of resources, and provides timely response to food safety problems. HACCP can facilitate regulatory compliance and increase consumer confidence in food safety. HACCP is compatible with novel approaches for quality management such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
The HACCP workshop is designed to provide food manufacturers with a basic understanding of principles, and help develop and implement a HACCP program.
The focus of this workshop is to review the basic concepts of HACCP and discuss the design and implementation of a HACCP system for a variety of food systems. We will not discuss detailed aspects of any specific food product or commodity.
The workshop curriculum follows the guidelines established for HACCP system development and implementation created by the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF, 1997).
The course includes lecture discussions, group activities and break-out sessions, and an exam designed to demonstrate basic HACCP training and familiarity with the concepts and material presented. A certificate of completion with the International HACCP Alliance Seal will be awarded to student passing the exam with a score of 70% or higher, as proof of training.
Please contact Susan Eschbach for more information – [email protected]