Food Processing Support Center
Process Authority Services
The Public Health Microbiology program is pleased to support food entrepreneurs in Tennessee and around the country by providing the below services. The director of the program (Dr. Aliyar Cyrus Fouladkhah), currently serves as the Process Authority for the State of Tennessee.
Before shipping your samples, please contact afouladk@tnstate.edu or (970) 690-7392 for discussing your needs and the shipping arrangement.
**** Important, Please Review this Section Carefully ****
Please make any payment using these pieces of information only. Payments would need to be only addressed:
To: Public Health Microbiology (PHM) Laboratory of Tennessee State University
Memo line: For Services received from PHM lab
Address for the samples and payments:
Public Health Microbiology Laboratory
Lawson Hall 111.A and CARP Building, Laboratories 112 & 114,
3500 John A. Merritt Blvd., Nashville, TN 37209
Payments are due after receiving the samples by the laboratory and are required before releasing your results. Please note that our services are not for profit and payments will be used for educational and research purchases of the Public Health Microbiology laboratory. Please do not send any payments directly to the laboratory director or any of the staff. Please only address your payment/checks using the above-mentioned instruction. Payments are non-refundable.
All samples would need to be from three different batches with a quantity of at least 3 oz (about 100 mL) each. If your sample is perishable and requires refrigeration, please place your samples in a cooler with ice pack and clearly label your shipping container with: Require Immediate Refrigeration.
All payments are tax-deductible for entrepreneurs and are collected in Public Health Microbiology Foundation Account for research, outreach, and educational activities of the program.
Food Processing Center Service
Consultation with a Process Authority about Product Safety*:
$150 per hour
* Initial consultation fees could be waived if the client is referred by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and for first-time food entrepreneurs and start-up companies
Review and Correction of Food Safety and HACCP Plan by a Process Authority:
$150 per hour
Nutrient Analysis (Nutrition Facts Label)*:
$165 (per formula)
*Based on ingredients and/or formulation provided by the client.
Equilibrium pH Testing:
$50 per sample
$140 for a batch of three samples provide for regulatory compliance
Water Activity Testing:
$60 per sample
$160 for a batch of three samples provide for regulatory compliance
Color Assessment:
$95 per sample
Shelf-Life Testing* (Aerobic Plate Count and Total Molds and Yeast Counts):
$70 per week of analysis
*Clients would need to provide 3 samples for each week of analysis.
Other Services*:
Product Development Consultation
Line-extension, low-sodium, and reduced-sodium reformulation
Hurdle validation studies for heat and pressure-treated products
Microbiological challenge studies (microbial pathogens, spoilage organisms, spore suspension)
Sanitation validation using planktonic cells and bacterial biofilms
Environmental monitoring and product pathogen testing
Development of FSMA Food Safety and HACCP plans for further processed food products
FSMA PC QI workshop for food companies
*price will be determined based on scope of the work