FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 15, 2003

Contact: Cheryl Leach, 315-787-2622

Food Business Incubation Summit: Sept. 17-18

GENEVA, NY: The second annual Food Business Incubation Summit for professionals working with incubator kitchens, shared-use facilities and food venture centers will be held Sept. 17-18 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Northampton, Mass.

The two-day event is sponsored by The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (NECFE) at Cornell and the University of Vermont, the Franklin County Community Development Corporation, in partnership with the Massachusetts Food and Agriculture Department and Rutgers University/NJAES Food Innovation Research & Extension Center (FIRE).

"The symposium will re-unite food processing technical and business support professionals from across the U.S. to review the best practices for food venture centers and incubation facilities," said Olga Padilla-Zakour, director of NECFE and one of the summit's organizers.

Workshops that review and explain some of the new and revised requirements of food processors are scheduled in addition to a full agenda of educational and regulatory topics related to economic development. Topics will include: labeling regulations, food safety, the Bio-terrorism Act relating to food processing, developing a stakeholder committee, assessment of documentation of facility policies and procedures, FDA Food Establishment Plan Review Guidelines, program evaluation methodologies and instruments for reporting.

In addition, there will be a tour of a recently established shared-use food processing in Greenfield, MA, sponsored by the Franklin County Community Development Corp., and a reception with appetizers for guests. After the tour and reception, conference speakers will host discussions at several restaurants in the Northampton area.

Greenfield is a 20-minute drive from the Clarion in Northampton. Registration is $75, which includes lunches, breaks and educational materials. Participants are responsible for their own lodging, travel, and dinner. There is a block of rooms reserved at the Clarion Hotel (413-586-1211) for a special reduced rate, if reserved by Aug. 18.

To register for the Food Business Incubation Summit, call or email Cheryl Leach at 315-787-2622; cal35@cornell.edu; or Sarah Lincoln at 315-787-2274; sjl38@cornell.edu

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