Workshop to help those starting a specialty food business

The workshop, which will take place April 25 at Indiana Farm Bureau Inc., 225 S. East St., Indianapolis, is for anyone with an interest in developing a specialty food or food ingredient business. The workshop is intended to provide information, contacts and resources through its speakers and written materials.

When registering, participants are asked to specify a specialty food product, either meat, dairy, grains, fruits or vegetables, and one food process, either fresh/no process, frozen, canned, dried or fermented, of their particular area of interest.

"We ask that they specify what interests them so we know how to customize the subject matter of our talks," said De Bush, Purdue University Extension assistant in food science. "We usually have a wide variety of interests at the workshops, from people interested in sauces and salsas, some in meat production, some in vegetable products, and so on."

Speakers and topics of the workshop include:

• Kevin Keener, Purdue professor of food science, will speak about specialty food product and process development.

• Maria Marshall, Purdue professor of agricultural economics, will speak about marketing.

• Lisa Mauer, Purdue professor of food science, will speak about packaging.

• Les Bourquin from Michigan State University will speak about food safety.

• Shirley Vargas of the Indiana State Department of Health will talk about food regulations.

• Linda Wood of the Southeastern Indiana Small Business Development Center will speak on business planning.

• Sarah Yeager of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture will speak about organic food products.

• Charlie Ferguson, an entrepreneur who produces Crazy Charlie's Salsa, will speak about his business venture.

Registration for the workshop is $75 per participant. This fee includes a three-ring binder of relevant information, lunch and refreshments. The registration deadline, and the deadline for cancellation of refunds, is April 18. For more registration information, contact Marsha Pritchard at (765) 494-4268.

The Introduction to Starting a Specialty Food Business in Indiana workshop is sponsored by the Purdue Departments of Agricultural Economics and Food Science, as well as the Southeastern Indiana Small Business Development Center and the Indiana State Department of Health.

Writer: Jennifer Culy, (765) 494-8402, jculy@purdue.edu

Sources: De Bush, (765) 496-3832, djbush@purdue.edu

Maria Marshall, (765) 494-4268, mimarsha@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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