Plan. Produce. Profit: Creating and Processing Value-Added Food Products in Arkansas

Topic:

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Law Center are facilitating three webinars, held in late 2023 and early 2024, as part of the Plan. Produce. Profit. series. Webinar participants will learn how to operate under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act for selling homemade food items to the public. Funding for these webinars is provided by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture through the USDA Specialty Crop Producers Program.

Dr. Renee Threlfall, Research Scientist with the Food Science Department in the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will present the final webinar of the three on February 14, 2024. The webinar is titled, “Plan. Produce. Profit: Creating and Processing Value-Added Food Products in Arkansas.”

The recording of the first webinar, which was presented by NALC Senior Staff Attorney Rusty Rumley and titled, “Plan. Produce. Profit: Liability Issues with Food Processing Under the Arkansas Food Freedom Act” is available here. The recording of the second webinar, presented by Jeff Jackson, Public Health Section Chief II with the Arkansas Department of Health and titled, “Plan. Produce. Profit: An Overview of the Arkansas Food Freedom Act,” will be available after January 10 here.

According to a fact sheet from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Public Policy Center, Act 1040 of 2021 (otherwise known as the Arkansas Food Freedom Act) allows Arkansas residents to sell more types of homemade food and drink products in more locations than before and allowing direct sales of certain homemade food and drink products that do not require time or temperature controls to remain safe. Some products, such as pickles, salsas, and canned vegetables, may require pH testing or preapproved recipes.

Time and Date:

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Noon – 1 p.m. (EST)

11 a.m. – Noon (CST)

Participation:

Presenters:

Dr. Renee Threlfall is a Research Scientist at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture (UA System), Fayetteville. She has worked in the Food Science Department at the UA System for over 30 years. Ath the University of Arkansas, she completed her B.S. in Microbiology and M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science with an emphasis in enology and viticulture.

Dr. Threlfall’s research and extension at the UA System is focused on processing and postharvest storage of specialty crops (wine grapes, muscadine grapes, table grapes, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, hops, etc.) and value-added processing of horticultural crops. She has over 40 refereed journal publications. She teaches an introduction to enology and viticulture class, Uncorked: Vines to Wines, at the University of Arkansas each fall and teaches enology, viticulture and sensory topics for grape and wine production in other Food Science classes.

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