Washington, DC – The National Fisheries Institute will hold its first sensory workshop of the year April 11-12th in Miami, Florida. A course on seafood decomposition, the workshop will provide attendees with the skills to detect product decomposition and maintain quality assurance within their supply chains.
Hosted by Quirch Foods, the workshop will feature instructions on vannamei shrimp raw, vannamei shrimp cooked, tuna, mahi-mahi and farmed Atlantic Salmon. For the first time, FDA’s National Seafood Sensory Expert, Michael McLendon, will lead the course, taking over for retired expert Jim Barnett.
“NFI’s sensory courses provide an unmatched opportunity for industry to learn from the regulators,” said McLendon. “I am excited to lead this workshop and offer attendees the same detailed training that FDA and NOAA inspectors receive and use on a daily basis in making sensory determinations.”
For over ten years, the NFI sensory workshop series has educated hundreds of seafood professionals in spoilage detection. The workshops, held in Miami during the spring and Seattle in the fall, allow the seafood industry to become familiar with the odor references and grading scales in use during federal sensory examinations. In addition, laboratory personnel involved in third-party sensory testing can prove current training, increasingly a requirement when submitting findings to the FDA, through course participation.
“Sensory training requires constant honing,” said McLendon. “Like any skill, practice increases accuracy. The upcoming workshop is a hands-on experience that introduces attendees to a range of in-demand species categories. Learning the FDA’s sensory benchmarks benefits anyone working with seafood.”
Registration is now open for NFI’s East Coast Sensory Workshop taking place April 11-12th at Quirch Foods in Miami, Florida. Space is limited and those interested in attending are encouraged to complete registration early. To register for the event, click here. For further information, contact Richard Barry, rbarry@nfi.org.
Source: The National Fisheries Institute
