Non Technical Summary
New research and community education supporting safe home food preservation is essential for preventing food borne illness and promoting household food security. While research into commercial food preservation has kept pace with new tastes, products, and technologies, development of safe procedures for processing and packaging fresh foods for long term storage in the home kitchen has precipitously declined in the past two decades. The "Modernizing Home Food Preservation" conference will reignite research and extension work relating to home food preservation, resulting in a shared regional research agenda for releasing new guidelines for home food preservation that address current community needs and contemporary technologies.The conference will accomplish this goal by convening food safety researchers and Extension professionals from across the western region from February 29 to March 2, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. Invited presentations from Extension professionals will highlight emerging trends in home food preservation, including needs reported from communities historically underserved by USDA research and Extension outreach. Invited presentations from food safety researchers will discuss current research capacity and will highlight emerging risks resulting from consumers' reliance on untested techniques for home processing and packaging. In-depth work sessions will be tasked with prioritizing a regional research agenda and elucidating protocols for validating safe processing and packaging recommendations applicable in divesre home kitchen environments. Ongoing regional collaboration to further the established research agenda will be supported by regular meetings of the Western Region Food Preservation Working Group.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
723	5010	1100	100%

Knowledge Area
723 - Hazards to Human Health and Safety;

Subject Of Investigation
5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
1100 - Bacteriology;

Goals / Objectives
The Modernizing Home Food Preservation conference has three core goals:(1) survey current risks in home food preservation; (2) develop a shared, forward-lookingresearch agenda; and (3) work towards the development of a standardized and collaborative procedure for testing and approving new recipes and techniques.Goal 1: Extension agents, specialists, and food safety researchers will share ground-level data of current high-risk practices and under researched food types utilized in home kitchens.Objectives tied to this goalinclude:The conference planning team will release a request for proposals broadly to Extension agents and food safety researchers in the western region inviting presentationson the developing trends in home food preservation, including novel or under researched food types and emerging high-risk practices within the region.The conference planning team will exercise connections to professional networks to ensure the relevant experts are invited, including the Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety (WRCEFS), the Western Region Food Preservation Working Group (WRFPWG) as well as organizations supporting culturally specific food access initiatives, including the Northwest Tribal Food Sovereignty Coalition and Latinx-serving food systems partners.The Modernizing Food Preservation conference planning team will review proposals and invite presentations representing a diversity of trends and topics in contemporary food preservation that highlight under researched food types and emerging risks.The conference planning team will invite a keynote speaker with experience working in specific communities in the western region engaged in preserving culturally significant foods that have been under researched.Invited presenters will share their research at the conference and spur conversation between engaged researchers and Extension professionals regarding emerging trends and needs.Goal 2: Conference attendees will contribute to the development of a western region research agenda for home food preservation.Objectives tied to this goalinclude:The conference planning team will facilitate a collaborative working session for Extension agents to discuss the prioritization of research needs in home food preservation based upon the degree of risk associated with the practices and foods in question, the prevalence of interest in the topic within western region populations, and the need for increased equity in access to food preservation research.Conference organizers will encourage and gather participant feedback on research prioritization through engaging workshop exercises and post-conference surveys.Results of collaborative prioritization will be developed into a report to be delivered to the WRFPWG and the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (NEAFCS).The WRFPWG will maintain and update this prioritization list as a part of its regular bimonthly meeting, and regional specialists will have opportunities to offer updates on their developing research agendas at the bimonthly WRFPWG meetings.Goal 3: Western region researchers will convene to discuss and develop a standardized protocol for testing recipes and publishing safe recommendations for home food preservers and to explore shared research responsibilities.Objectives tied to this goalinclude:The conference planning team will invite Dr. Carla Schwan, the Director of the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP), as a keynote speaker to deliver a presentation on her current efforts at standardizing testing protocols for home food preservation recipes.Extension food safety specialists from each state in the region will be invited to present on their current research agenda relating to home food preservation, highlighting overlap with areas of emerging needs or novel food types and their capacity for future research.Western region Extension specialists and food safety researchers will be invited to a collaborative working session to discuss their shared capacity to comply with testing protocols as elaborated by the NCHFP and engage in new research to meet community needs.The WRFPWG will provide space at its bimonthly meeting for researchers in the western region to continue collaborating on testing protocols and a regional research agenda.

Project Methods
The planning team has chosen to host a professional conference as the best method for overcoming the present inertia in the field of home food preservation research and outreach. The conference will utilize four mechanisms to inform and promote future research and outreach in home food preservation.Keynote presentations: two keynote presenters have been invited to discuss a national survey of consumer trends as well as protocols for validating new techniques and recipes. These keynote presentations represent the most credible information in the field.Reviewed presentations: the conference time has solicited proposals for presentations on recent research in novel food types for home food preservation as well as emerging consumer trends that present unique food safety risks. Successful proposals have been invited to present to the audience of professionals.Expert panel: the conference will feature and expert panel to discuss different research strategies for investigating food safety risks in home food preservation. Questions for the panel will be solicited in advance of the conference.Working groups: participants will divide into two working groups on the second day of the conference to allow for more focused collaboration between food safety researchers, on the one hand, and outreach professionals, on the other. Each group will use their time to conduct a "state of the field" survey of current resources, to identify areas for collaboration, and to prioritize research and development of new materials linked to emerging trends.