In South Carolina, nothing stops people who want to start a food-based business. This summer, the Clemson Extension Food2Market Program has been as busy as ever. In June and July, they provided food safety and regulation information to more than seventy people who want to make and sell food in South Carolina. This support is offered through phone and email. They also wrapped up details from the Spring 2020 Food Safety for Food Entrepreneurs class and began planning for the fall class. This class is offered for seven weeks online concluding with a one day “in-person” workshop. The team feels confident that the fall class will run as planned and they truly hope that they will be able to meet in person in November!
The Food2Market program also offers product testing services for food entrepreneurs. Food producers often have to submit samples of their food products to be tested for food safety and regulation purposes. These services include pH and water activity testing (to prove that foods are shelf-stable), the generation of nutrition facts panels, and gluten testing. They have also recently added services to calculate the amount of meat and/or alcohol in food products. The results of these tests are written into a process control letter, that meets FDA regulatory requirements. In June and July, sixty-five tests were completed for twenty-two food entrepreneurs and companies, generating $5,375.00 in revenue.
COVID-19 has presented many challenges. To continue offering food safety testing, the Food2Market Program had to figure out how to receive product samples, while there were limited mail services on campus. Their solution was to have the products delivered to an off-campus location and have them delivered to the testing lab in the Life Science Building once or twice a week.
Submitted by: Adair Hoover, Food Systems and Safety Agent
