IdaHome food safety program
Food safety education
Grounded in Idaho’s culture of self-reliance and outdoor recreation, the University of Idaho Extension IdaHome Food Safety Program seeks to develop comprehensive food safety education tailored to Idaho’s unique food safety landscape. We integrate research, education and community partnerships to deliver relevant, practical food safety knowledge that equips all Idahoans for how you want to live.
For every situation
Whether you are maintaining family traditions, practicing homesteading, enjoying the outdoors or preparing for emergencies, UI Extension is here to help you do it safely, from backyard to backcountry, garden to game, emergency to everyday.
Current ongoing programs
Homesteading food safety
Growing, producing and preserving your own food safely. Safe practices for gardening, backyard poultry and dairy animals.
Master food safety advisor
If you are familiar with our Idaho Master Gardener Program, you may be interested in our Master Food Safety Advisor Program (Master Food Preserver) for online courses.
- This hands-on volunteer program provides education on how to safely can your own food and prepares you to share your knowledge with others in your community. Find out if a Master Food Safety Advisor Program is offered in your county under Health and Wellbeing. You can also ask the county's UI Extension office to have your pressure canner gauge checked.
Master water stewards
The IDAH2O Master Water Stewards Program offers a volunteer, citizen scientist effort to collect basic water quality data (such as biological and chemical assessments) for Idaho streams.
- This program is offered through UI Extension to provide a unique opportunity to learn about and document regional water issues. Please watch video to learn about "Protecting drinking water wells."
Virtual food safety
These popular Virtual Food Safety monthly online workshops are free to you, and cover food safety topics related to food preservation and storage such as canning, dehydration, freeze drying and more.
Preserve at home
Preserve@Home is an online food preservation course that teaches Idahoans how to produce high-quality preserved foods and understand the science behind food preservation and food safety.
- Through self-paced lessons, discussion boards and real-time instructor chats, participants learn safe canning, drying and freezing techniques — from boiling water and pressure canning to specialty foods like jams, salsas and fermented pickles.
UI Extension publications
View peer-reviewed, research-based educational materials produced by U of I experts.
Planned programs
Let us know what planned programs you are most interested in. Please take our survey.
Coop to kitchen
Coop to kitchen
Backyard poultry food safety From flock health to egg safety, this program provides science-based practices for raising and harvesting safe food from your backyard birds.
- This program will educate Idahoans on risk of foodborne illnesses such as Salmonella, avian influenza, and bird handling and processing.
If you are interested in selling your eggs, please visit our Producer Food Safety Coop to Caddy resource.
Foraging food safety
Foraging food safety
Idaho's forests, fields and public lands offer incredible foraging opportunities — and UI extension provides the knowledge to do it safely. From morel mushrooms and huckleberries to native plants and insects, this program will provide Idahoans with science-based identification resources, toxin awareness and safe preparation practices for wild-foraged foods.
- Topics will include distinguishing edible mushrooms from toxic look-alikes, safe identification and preparation of native plants, and guidance on edible native insect species and associated risks.
Guide to raw milk: Informed choice
Guide to raw milk: Informed choice
Idaho is home to 175 registered raw milk dairies, and raw milk is a regular part of many Idaho households. This program will help consumers make informed decisions about raw milk and understand the natural presence of microbes in raw milk including the potential for pathogens, which could be higher risk for certain populations (children, pregnant women, immunocompromised, elderly).
- It will cover topics such as how raw milk sales are regulated in Idaho, questions to ask raw milk producers before you buy, the importance of temperature control, home tests you can perform and when its best to use a home pasteurization method.
Producers looking for guidance on raw milk production, sanitation and testing, please visit our Producer Food Safety raw milk resources.
Hunter food safety
Hunter food safety
With over 250,000 registered hunters in Idaho, UI Extension has partnered with Idaho Fish and Game to bring you online modules and hands-on workshops to safely process your big game, upland birds and waterfowl from field to fork.
Local food safety: Safe from source to storage
Local food safety: Safe from source to storage
Local food producers hold a critical role in the food economy and innovation of new foods. UI Extension is here to help you navigate the changing regulatory landscape and Idaho’s 2026 Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act (Senate Bill 1283). This program will provide food safety guidance to consumers for locally sourced foods, questions to ask and strategies for maintaining safe temperature control.
Outdoor, off-grid and emergency food safety
Outdoor, off-grid and emergency food safety
Whether for outdoor day trips, multiday excursions, off-grid living or emergency situations, UI Extension covers food safety practices for all your adventures, planned or otherwise.
- We cover practices such as safe cooler and cold-storage, shelf-stable food preparation, open fire cooking, water treatment for safe drinking water, food storage that keeps you in nature and nature out of your food (foodborne pathogens and wildlife).
Curriculum for educators
If you are looking for teaching materials to share food safety concepts with others please see the following:
Ready, set, food safe
The Ready, Set, Food Safe curriculum is for high school educators to provide food safety training to students. High school students can receive high school credit and a state of Idaho-approved certificate in food safety.
Germ city
Germ City resources were developed by UI Extension to provide education on preventing the spread of germs by proper handwashing.
Programs for producers
Are you interested in producing food from your home or small farm and selling it direct-to-consumer? Please see our other UI Extension webpage and links at Producer food safety: For the Idaho entrepreneur.
Connect with us
Questions? Suggestions? We want to hear from you.
Whether you are raising backyard chickens, processing wild game, fermenting vegetables, shopping at farmer markets, preparing for emergencies or just keeping your kitchen safe, University of Idaho Extension is here for you.
- Email — cals-foodsafety@uidaho.edu
- Follow — Instagram @uidahofoodsafety
Check out the Health and Wellbeing calendar and inspiring stories.
Meet our people
Food safety working group
Surine Greenway
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-HGretchen Manker
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer SciencesSendy Martinez
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-HBridget Morrisroe
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer SciencesTracey Lee Peters
Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Consumer Food SafetyJoey Peutz
Director of University of Idaho Extension's Southern DistrictDeanna Poulsen
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer SciencesAmy Robertson
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer Sciences and 4-HLaura Sant
Extension Educator in Health and Nutrition, Food Safety and 4-HDanielle Scott
Extension Educator in Agriculture, Community Development and 4-HAbby May
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer SciencesGrace Wittman
Extension Educator in Family and Consumer Sciences
Meet our partners
Idaho State Department of Agriculture
Idaho Farmers Market Association
Idaho Department of Health and Welfare
Public health districts