Establishing a National Center for Home Food Preservation Elizabeth L. Andress 1, M. A. Harrison 2, W. L. Kerr 2 and J. A. Harrison 1 1 Extension Foods and Nutrition, Family and Consumer Sciences, 208 Hoke Smith Annex, 2 Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA ABSTRACT Home food preservation remains an important and popular cultural activity. The Cooperative Extension System (CES) and USDA have long been recognized as credible sources for science-based recommendations. The last developmental work on these recommendations was completed a decade ago. Establishment of a National Center for Home Food Preservation was proposed to meet the needs of Extension agents for offering credible research-based information. The objectives of the Center were to update home canning and freezing guidelines; to identify future research needs; and to conduct a needs assessment for home food preservation programming in Extension. Two surveys were sent to state CES contacts to (1) identify recent or current research of relevance to home canning and freezing recommendations, and (2) have a survey to county Extension agents forwarded. County agents were asked to categorize the types of informational requests received in this program and to identify topics on which they need additional information and assistance. Laboratory studies were conducted to develop home canned products using tropical produce and falling into the categories of specialty or condiment foods. A peer review of proposed USDA recommendations for home freezing was conducted and incorporated into a new publication for distribution to the CES and public. Extension responses indicate that 45 percent of home food preservation requests are for canning, 21 percent for freezing and percent for pickles and jams/jellies. The most requested processes are for condiments. Issues regarding processing equipment and evaluating recipes were cited by more than 50 percent of respondents. Product development resulted in acceptable condiments adequately acidified (pH less than 3.8) to reduce food safety risks for home preparation. Peer networking resulted in identifying needs for additional collaborations across the CES around home food preservation. The Center will now include additional mechanisms (electronic and curricula) for information dissemination and expansion of laboratory studies for product development and equipment studies. BACKGROUND The Cooperative Extension System has a long history as a credible source for science-based home food preservation recommendations. Since the late 19 th century, USDA has published recommendations for home canning processes, pickling foods, salting foods and sugar concentrates (jams and jelly products). Research emphases changed from home canning to home freezing with the introduction of the home freezer in the 1950’s. USDA Extension Service never published recommendations for home drying of foods, but in the 1970’s supported the publication from University of California Extension on home drying, as a good reference. States in other parts of the country contributed additional research on home drying in their locations. The USDA and other federal government agency bulletins on curing, salt brining, and preserving fish are several decades old and most are out of print. The last developmental work on USDA’s home canning and freezing recommendations was completed a decade ago, by a USDA Center of Excellence in Home Food Preservation established at Penn State University. The USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning (1) was first published in 1988 and has had minor updates in 1989 and A companion Complete Guide to Home Freezing was written in the late 1980’s to supersede USDA’s four bulletins on home freezing methods from the 1970’s and 1980’s but has never been published. Communications among state Extension specialists have indicated that the Cooperative Extension System still remains an important source of safe home food preservation recommendations in the U.S. They have also indicated the need for national leadership in this area, as many states are not replacing specialists with particular expertise in home preservation methods. The Cornell Cooperative Extension Service indicates that Extension agents still do workshops for master preservers or hotline volunteers as well as consumers; conduct programs at farmers' markets; information is provided through telephone and media; and that food preservation entries are still big at county fairs (2). About 34% of the information requests filled by Cornell Extension agents relate to canning; about 26% cover freezing. County Extension agents in North Carolina report that they answer approximately 250 questions each per year on food preservation (3). The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service sells a comprehensive (340 pages) book on home canning, freezing, drying, pickling and jelly methods (4). The last edition, released in late summer 1999, has sold 4,500 copies in 45 states plus international locations. Over 100 copies have been sold in each of 13 U.S. states. More than 2000 books have been sold to state or county Extension offices outside of Georgia. INITIAL CENTER OBJECTIVES  Develop new recipes (products) and guidelines on home food preservation that emphasize the use of nontraditional fruits and vegetables (e.g., tropical and newer varieties to the U.S.) and popular consumer specialty foods such as salsas, relishes, sauces and chutneys.  Review recent research conducted in the public and private sectors on home food preservation techniques, and formulate recommendations for their adoption or adaptation based on the reviews.  Identify areas where further research into food preservation techniques is needed.  Finalize the draft USDA Complete Guide to Home Freezing to prepare it for publication.  Update the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning incorporating new or revised recommendations as appropriate ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTER Product Development  Laboratory studies have been conducted to add new home canning products to the USDA-Extension database of recommendations. Original recipes for salsa, chutneys and relishes were tested informally for acceptability by a variety of faculty and university students. pH values, raw weights and household measures as well as prepared weights and measures of ingredients were recorded. Heat penetration data were collected as necessary for process determination. o Original salsa, chutney, relish and sauce products using mango, hot peppers, jicama and tomatillo have been developed to final recipes and have heat penetration data under study in preparation for release in summer o Additional products using these same ingredients are in recipe development stages, as is a lemon curd and fruit syrups.  The microbial profiles of selected fresh herbs and whole spices used in home preparation of salsas, flavored vinegars and oils were studied. Effectiveness of wash and chlorine treatments were investigated as techniques for decreasing the microbial load. The study determined that fresh herbs and whole spices have significant levels of spoilage and potentially pathogenic microorganisms. Consumer intervention steps like washing and chlorine dipping decrease microbial populations and improve the quality of herbs and spices. (See Poster 27, Session 88D, TUE PM) Survey of State and County Extension Faculty A survey of state and county Extension faculty was conducted by in March Responses were received from 225 Extension agents representing 24 states. Extension responses indicate that 45 percent of home food preservation requests are for canning, 21 percent for freezing and percent for pickles and jams/jellies. The most requested processes are for condiments. Issues regarding processing equipment and evaluating recipes were cited by more than 50 percent of respondents. National Consumer Telephone Survey The last major survey of home food preservation practices conducted by USDA was carried out in 1975 (5); a few sporadic reports about canning practices have been conducted by others in the 25 years since that survey (6). A National Family Opinion Mail Survey on home canning was conducted by the Farnsworth Group in 1996 for Alltrista Consumer Products Company (7). A nationwide telephone survey was conducted for this National Center for Home Food Preservation by the Survey Research Center, University of Georgia, in the fall of The survey asked a cross-section of the adult U.S. population about home canning and freezing practices. Respondents were asked 68 closed-response or open-ended questions. Data was obtained from 500 completed interviews, out of 1,244 eligible contacts (40% cooperation). *27% reported canning foods and 94.4% reported freezing foods in *Most common products canned: vegetables (71% of canners), tomatoes/tomato products (60%) and fruits/fruit products (47%). *Most common foods frozen: home-prepared casseroles or baked goods (40% of freezers), vegetables (43%), seafood (36%), fresh fruit (31%). Significant numbers re-package and freeze fresh meats and poultry (76%), or foods other than meat (49%). * Friends and relatives are the top source of directions for both canning and freezing; cookbooks are the second choice. A.Home Freezing situation: *25% do not blanch foods in preparation for freezing. B.Home Canning situation: *Questionable practices pointed out by the survey that need further analysis or programmatic attention include canning methods chosen for various foods (Table 1) and canning containers used (Table 2). *24% reported having the dial gauge on the pressure canner they used, tested in 1999, while 59% reported that it was not tested. 11% did not use a dial gauge canner. ¤Of the 13 people having a gauge tested in 1999, 6 (46%) had it tested at a hardware store; 4 (31%) at an Extension Service. *16% using an electric range for canning, used a smooth-top range. *38% reported having seal failures with jars (from 1-12 jars) ¤41% of these discarded those jars, 29% refrigerated and used the food quickly; 24% reprocessed the food. Revision of Publications The draft Complete Guide to Home Freezing was sent to the National Center Advisory Committee for peer review in winter and spring The comments received were so extensive that the publication content is just being finalized in summer One major decision was to remove information on microwave blanching recommendations from the first edition of the book. It was the area with the greatest controversy and concerns by the reviewers. These methods are being studied further by the National Center at Alabama A & M University. Information on packaging needed significant updating More information on freezing prepared foods was frequently requested The Complete Guide to Home Canning will be updated when the Freezing Guide is finished. Products developed by the Center are being prepared for release prior to this via the Internet (a National Center website under development). EXPANSION OF THE CENTER The National Center received additional funding in and has additional collaborators and objectives, as a result of the surveys and advisory committee comments in the first year. Current Cooperation and Institutional Units Involved The University of Georgia – Lead Institution Department of Foods and Nutrition Department of Food Science and Technology Department of Housing and Consumer Economics Alabama A & M University Department of Food and Animal Sciences University of California-Davis Department of Food Sciences and Technology An Advisory Committee composed of individuals from Auburn University, Clemson University, Colorado State University, Cornell University, Kansas State University, North Carolina State University, and University of California-Davis, as well as Alltrista Consumer Products Company and National Presto Industries, Inc. CURRENT CENTER OBJECTIVES  Review and catalog recent research conducted in the public and private sectors on expanded home food processing and preservation techniques  Update the current guidelines for home food processing and preservation, incorporating new or revised recommendations as appropriate.  Develop and test new recipes (products) and guidelines on home food processing and preservation methods that emphasize: (a) popular consumer specialty foods such as salsas, relishes, sauces and chutneys, ethnic foods and new varieties of fruits and vegetables; (b) safety guidelines for processing food in community cannery settings; and (c) applications of updated technology, such as microwave blanching for food freezing.  Establish distribution mechanisms for dissemination of guidelines.  Identify areas where further research in home food processing and preservation techniques is needed CENTER ACTIVITIES ADDED IN  Literature searches and reviews have been expanded to include food drying, pickling and fermentation, curing, smoking and long-term fresh food storage.  Additional laboratory studies. Challenge studies on questionable preservation methods by current food safety recommendations, including investigation of botulism hazards associated with herb and garlic-flavored oils. Operation of home-processing pressure canners will be studied for factors affecting their process integrity. Specifically, issues about dial gauge accuracy and testing/calibration methods will be addressed. Review of the existing situation regarding community cannery operations and processes and researching updated processes for metal cans. Microwave blanching procedures for freezing foods, using alternate powers and applications of microwave treatments.  Dissemination of new products, guidelines and publications. Development of a website, which will eventually be interactive and offer a curriculum for independent study as well as demonstration modules. Development of a model Master Food Preserver Program. Presentation of a national teleconference for updating the Cooperative Extension System. Production of an instructional video series. Production of the database of recommendations/USDA guides on CD-ROM is being investigated. The potential demand and funding for instructional hands-on workshops for Extension educators will be explored.  Arrangements are now being made with the University of Puerto Rico for additional product development with tropical fruits; collaboration has already begun on jam and jelly work. REFERENCES 1. Extension Service-USDA. 1994rev. Complete Guide to Home Canning. Agriculture Information Bulletin No CSREES-USDA, Washington, D.C. 2. Stark, C Personal communication to E. Andress from Cornell University Cooperative Extension Service. March. 3. Fraser, A Letter written to E. Andress from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. April. 4. (In alphabetical order) Andress, E. L. and Harrison, J. A So Easy to Preserve, 4 th ed. Bulletin 989. Cooperative Extension Service, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 5. Davis, C. A. and L. Page Practices used for home canning of fruits and vegetables. USDA Home Econ. Research Report, No Andress, E. L. and Kuhn, G. D. 1983; 1998 sl. rev. Critical review of home preservation literature and current research, Part I. Final report to ES/USDA National Family Opinion Mail Survey, Alltrista Consumer Products Company, Muncie, Indiana, As cited in Getty, V. and Evers, B Electronic Food Rap, Vol. 7(40). Cooperative Extension Service, Purdue University. This material is partially funded through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Project Number