A strong pathogen environmental monitoring (PEM) program is a critical component of an effective food safety system. Regulatory requirements and GFSI-benchmarked standards increasingly emphasize risk-based environmental monitoring as a tool for identifying potential contamination sources, verifying sanitation controls, and reducing food safety risk.

A well-designed pathogen environmental monitoring (PEM) program does more than collect samples—it helps you find potential problems before they become costly food safety events. But building a program that is risk-based, practical, and effective can be challenging.

This hands-on course takes you beyond the basics to show you how to build, evaluate, and strengthen a pathogen environmental monitoring program that works in the real world. You’ll learn how to identify where contamination is most likely to occur, make smarter sampling decisions, interpret results, recognize trends, and take meaningful corrective action.

Whether you are building a new program or looking to improve an existing one, you’ll leave with practical tools and strategies you can put to work immediately.

During this interactive course, you will learn how to: 

• Build a stronger PEM program by connecting environmental monitoring to your facility’s food safety risks
• Identify contamination pathways and determine where sampling can provide the most meaningful information
• Develop a risk-based sampling strategy that considers locations, frequencies, organisms, and sampling methods
• Make sense of your results using indicator organisms, pathogen findings, trending, and data analysis
• Develop effective corrective actions and determine appropriate follow-up when results are out of compliance
• Strengthen your program over time by using environmental monitoring data to drive continuous improvement

Who Should Attend: 

This course is designed for professionals who are responsible for developing, managing, implementing, or improving pathogen environmental monitoring programs, including:

• Quality Assurance and Food Safety professionals 
• Sanitation Managers and Team Members
• Production Managers and Supervisors
• Plant and Operations Management
• Food Safety and Quality Managers
• Individuals responsible for environmental monitoring programs
• Professionals seeking a practical understanding of regulatory and GFSI expectations for PEM

Registration and Ways to Save

• $300 per person
• 50% subsidy is available to those working for small rural companies, see if you qualify
• 10% multiple attendees from discount available
• 10% IMA, NIMA SBDC, PNDC Members discount available

Learn From Someone Who's Done the Work

Dr. Janna Hamlett

Food Processing Specialist, TechHelp & University of Idaho

With more than 20 years of food manufacturing experience, Dr. Janna Hamlett understands firsthand the challenges of improving quality, efficiency, and operations. As a Six Sigma Black Belt and University of Idaho Extension faculty member, she brings practical, real-world experience to help participants turn Lean Six Sigma concepts into meaningful improvements at their organizations.