Food Technology Center

Food Technology Center

University of Idaho Food Technology Center is located at 1908 E. Chicago Street in Caldwell. The Food Technology Center (FTC) offers processing and educational assistance to aspiring food entrepreneurs that wish to produce packaged food products for resale. In addition to the technical support through product and process development, the Food Technology Center includes a commercial kitchen/processing facility, with specialized processing and packaging equipment, where small companies can get licensed to produce their own packaged food products. Read about Zacca Hummus success story.

Our primary function is to provide a facility that serves as both a production facility for entrepreneurs and a research facility for the food processing industry. We provide a variety of educational and technical support services in addition to a commercial processing facility (with equipment) which can be rented by the hour. We also have a pilot plant available for contract processing research projects and certified, Good Laboratory Practices Standards (GLP) food processing for the ag chemical industry seeking EPA chemical registration under FIFRA.

The Food Technology Center has the potential and/or resources to serve a variety of functions including:

• Processing and packaging
• Product and process development
• Analytical testing
• Label and packaging development
• Production employee training
• Warehousing services and food storage

For entrepreneurs or small food processors wishing to utilize the full services of the FTC, we ask that everyone first complete at least one of the following prerequisite courses designed to provide the basics of operating a food production company; including, but not limited to, basic business knowledge, food safety, labeling and government regulations, and what to expect as your business grows ($150). Regardless of where you plan to produce, either introductory class would be beneficial for any entrepreneurs considering the packaged food industry.

Option A — Online (at your own pace):  Introduction to Food Manufacturing — offered through TechHelp.

Option B — In person (one day class): Nothing scheduled at this time, please contact ftc@uidaho.edu to request a notification when any new classes are scheduled.

Each class will cover all the basics of food safety, regulations, labeling and food manufacturing. After starting or completing a prerequisite class you can submit a client application for consideration by our staff to determine whether your product and business model will be approved for operations at University of Idaho Food Technology Center (FTC). Once your application has been reviewed, an FTC staff member will contact you to discuss your options and initiate the first steps toward processing at the FTC or assist you with finding an alternative if we are not a good match for your processing needs.

FTC requirements

After starting or completing a prerequisite course you may submit a client application for consideration by our staff to determine whether your product and business model will be approved for operations at University of Idaho Food Technology Center (FTC). Once your application has been reviewed, an FTC staff member will contact you to discuss your options and initiate the first steps toward processing at the FTC or assist you with finding an alternative if we are not a good match for your processing needs.

• Completed client application — Fill out our online form client application.
• Legally establish a business and acquire an Idaho Seller’s Permit Number.
• Completed ST-101 form (Idaho Sales Tax Resale or Exemption) Form ST-101 (pdf).
• Product liability insurance coverage  — Each FTC client must show proof of product liability coverage (minimum $1 million) and that certificate must include University of Idaho Food Technology Center as additionally insured and workers compensation coverage if you plan on having employees.
• Liability waiver — Signed release of liability waiving any injuries to your person, business or property that occurs at University of Idaho Food Technology Center.
• Food processors license  — A valid State of Idaho Food Processors License to be issued by the Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare and administered through the appropriate health district Idaho Southwest District Health.
• Business plan  — Within three months of beginning work at the FTC, an operational business plan must be presented to the FTC for review and then again at one year for proof of concept. Each subsequent year of service will also require annual financial reports on general sales and growth statistics (to be used for internal FTC metrics only).
• Food safety plan  — Within 12-18 months of beginning production at FTC, an operational food safety plan must be in development and/or the proper additional training acquired in order to begin the process for writing your personalized food safety plan.
• Additional training or certification — Any food safety training that the FTC, FDA or Idaho Department of Health and Welfare deem necessary based on your specific process as well as additional food safety training for business owners and their employees.

Orientation

All commercial kitchen clients will receive hands-on training and orientation before independent operation will be allowed. Each tenant will learn facility wide sanitation and GMP practices as well as all necessary safe and sanitary equipment assembly and operations.

Scheduling

All commercial kitchen clients will receive hands-on training and orientation before independent operation will be allowed. Each tenant will learn facility wide sanitation and GMP practices as well as all necessary safe and sanitary equipment assembly and operations.

In addition to training classes and providing a facility for food production and processing research, the FTC also provides the following technical support services to all small commercial processors and cottage food producers:

• Basic food quality testing
• Nutritional analysis (database only)
• Pilot plant research processing
• Food storage (FTC clients only)
• Batch code label printing (on FTC client labels)

Food sample testing

The Food Technology Center does not perform microbial testing, however, we do offer the following basic quality control tests for small food producers (including cottage foods) needing to confirm if they are producing a low risk or shelf stable food product. We currently perform the following tests:

• Acidity (pH) — $15 per sample (minimum sample size 1/4 cup/60 mL)
• Water Activity (Aw) — $20 per sample (minimum sample size 1/8 cup/25 g)
• Degree Brix (°Bx) — $5 per sample (minimum sample size 1/8 cup/30 mL)
• % Moisture — $10 per sample (minimum sample size 1/8 cup/25 g)

After completing the sample submission form, a copy will be emailed to both you and the lab. Please print out a copy of the form to include with your physical sample(s) and payment (only cash or checks payable to University of Idaho). If you cannot print out the completed form, please include your contact information and clearly identify each sample.

Samples may be hand delivered Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. or shipped to the address on the form. No need to keep samples cold or to ship overnight and multiple tests can be performed from a single sample (no need for duplicates).

If you still have questions or concerns about submitting samples, please contact FTC for further assistance and please include a phone number for the option to call you back.

**Important Notice** The State of Maryland, does not currently accept test results from University of Idaho Food Technology Center.

Nutritional analysis

The Food Technology Center does not perform chemical analysis for nutritional values, but we do offer a database analysis with nutrition facts panel generation that is FDA compliant if there are no complex processing steps to account for and your company does not make any health claims on your label. Similar product/recipes done simultaneously will save time and money, but we do charge $150 per hour and most recipes take 20-40 minutes if all ingredients are clearly defined and accurate yield and product information is provided.

Submit the nutritional analysis request form to have your recipe considered for analysis.

Storage and warehousing services

The Food Technology Center houses 2,000 square feet of dry storage (pallet) and 200 square feet of walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer space. Operational space for supplies (make it and take it) is available to all clients at no extra charge, however, anyone wanting long term or continual storage space reserved for their supplies and finished food products will be charged reasonable monthly rates based on pallet count or shelf space.

The FTC also can receive deliveries for our clients so their supplies can be shipped directly via couriers, distributors or freight carriers. This includes forklift services (shipping & receiving) for a small fee, regardless of long-term storage. For more details about storage and warehousing services, please contact ftc@uidaho.edu.

Pilot plant research processing (corporate clients)

In addition to helping entrepreneurs, we also contract with large food producers and ag-chemical research companies looking for pilot run processing research or GLP processing studies. Anyone wishing to discuss pilot plant processing capabilities or GLP research processing should contact Joshua Bevan.

Contacts

Questions about FTC?

Anyone wishing to discuss our application process, classes, commercial kitchen processing capabilities or taking a tour of FTC, should contact Cini Baumhoff.