Food Processing and Dietary Supplement Support Center
Process Authority Services
The Food Processing Support Center of Public Health Microbiology Foundation 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 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 ****
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: Requires Immediate Refrigeration.
Food Processing Support Center of Public Health Microbiology Foundation is not responsible for samples lost during shipping and those that are not delivered. While we sincerely appreciate the kindness of entrepreneurs working with the Foundation, we are unable to accept gifts and cannot provide feedback on sensory characteristics of the products.
Please make any payment using these pieces of information only. Payments would need to be only addressed:
To: Public Health Microbiology Foundation
Memo line: Invoice Number
Payments are due within 30 days after receiving your results from the Foundation. Please note that payments are accepted only by checks or money order payable to Public Health Microbiology Foundation. Please do not send any payments addressed to the laboratory director or any of the staff. Payments are non-refundable.
Food Processing Center Service
Consultation with a Process Authority about Product Safety*:
$165 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:
$165 per hour
Nutrient Analysis (Nutrition Facts Label)*:
$425 (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:
$150 per sample
Shelf-Life Testing* (Real-Time or Accelerated Shelf-Life Testing Protocols):
$115 per week of analysis (Mesophilic Aerobic Plate Counts, Molds, and Yeasts Counts)
*Clients would need to provide 3 samples for each week of analysis.
Aflatoxin or Ochratoxin Testing:
$185 per sample
$450 for a batch of three samples provide for regulatory compliance
Baseline Microbial Testing (Aerobic Plate Counts, Yeasts, and Molds):
$120 per sample
$275 for a batch of three samples provide for regulatory compliance
Microbial Pathogen Testing (Culture-based with culture-independant confirmation):
(Salmonella serovars, Shiga toxigenic E. coli, L. monocytogenes, S. aureus)
$145 per sample
$350 for a batch of three samples provide for regulatory compliance
Other Services*:
Environmental monitoring for L. monocytogenes and Listeria spp.
Lactic acid bacteria, E. coli/Colifom, spoilage organisms, other pathogens testing.
Product Development Consultation
Shelf-life extension of shelf-stable and refrigerated product
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
Development of FSMA Food Safety and HACCP plans for further processed food products
FSMA PC QI workshop and Accredited HACCP certification for food companies
*price will be determined based on scope of the work