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AGENDA 2008

Agenda for 2009 will be available soon.
This information is subject to change at any time.


Tuesday, February, 19

7:30 AM - Transportation departs Hotel Monteleone.

8:00 AM - Registration, Laitram Machinery campus – 5301 Toler Street. Transportation provided from hotel.

8:20 AM - Welcome, Introductions and Course Orientation - Al Esparza, Laitram Machinery; Steve Otwell, University of Florida; Instructors and Laitram Staff

8:40 AM - Shrimp Cooking: A Worldwide Perspective - Kevin Gremillion, Laitram Machinery

9:20 AM - Definitions and Concerns for Cooked Shrimp - Steve Otwell, University of Florida

10:00 AM - Break

10:20 AM - Principles for Thermal Processing - Murat Balaban , University of Alaska


11:20 AM - FDA Compliance: Process Validations & Verifications - Victor Garrido, University of Florida

NOON - Lunch (provide on Laitram Machinery campus)

1:20 PM - Assuring FDA Compliance (Teams convene in Pilot Plant for Hands-On Cooking Trials)

Divide students into small teams to prepare their shrimp through different training stations located about the Laitram pilot processing plant. Each station will teach specific skills while actually working to prepare the shrimp for cooking. Each team will collect information for their cooked shrimp by completing their product assessment forms for microbial lethality, yields and HACCP validations.

  • Station 1 - Thermocouple Placement and Thermometers – Victor Garrido
  • Station 2 - Yields and Moisture Content – Steve Otwell
  • Station 3 - Station 3 – Low & High Temperature Cooking - Murat Balaban

Adjourn Day 1 – Complimentary transportation returns you back to Hotel Monteleone.

Free Evening


Wednesday, February, 20

8:00 AM - Transportation departs Hotel Monteleone.

8:30 AM - Retail Buyers Perspective in the United States - TBD

9:30 AM - Retail Buyers Perspective in Europe - Steve Lamming, Young’s Bluecrest, U.K.

10:30 AM - Break

10:45 AM - Guarding Cooked Shrimp Yield and Quality - Laura Garrido & Steve Otwell, University of Florida

11:45 AM - Lunch (provide on Laitram Machinery campus)

12:45 PM - Proper Freezing for Cooked Shrimp - TBD

1:30 PM - Assuring Cooked Shrimp Product Yield & Quality ( teams convene in Pilot Plant for Hands-On Cooking Trials)

Same assigned teams will prepare shrimp through different training stations prior to cooking. Each station will teach specific skills while actually working to prepare the shrimp for cooking. Each team will collect information for their cooked shrimp by completing their product assessment forms for product yields and sensory assessments for quality.

  • Station 1 - Guarding Shrimp Quality and Yield – Laura Garrido
  • Station 2 - Moisture and Sensory Assessments – Steve Otwell
  • Station 3 - Cooking Procedures – Victor Garrido
  • Station 4 - Valued Added Options – TBD

Adjourn Day 2

6 – 10 PM - School Social at Pat O’Brien’s Briars Suite in French Quarter, New Orleans.


Thursday, February 21

8:00 AM - Transportation departs Hotel Monteleone.

8:30 AM - Regulatory Requirements: FDA Perspective & Issues
David LeRay, FDA-New Orleans District

9:30 AM - Present and Discuss Team Cooking Results
(1)Validations for lethality, (2)Yields & (3) Quality

  • Course Review and Additional Topic
  • Course Exam
  • Exam Review and Discussion

10:30 AM - Break

10:45 AM - Future Governance for International Shrimp Commerce - Steve Otwell, University of Florida

11:45 AM - Laitram Machinery Campus Tour - Optional
- Laitram Machinery Staff

Adjourn School with Course Completion Certificates in hand to provide evidence for training consistent with requirements of the FDA.