This hands-on workshop with great acceptance from processors and suppliers in the Americas was organized by the Departments of Food Science and Technology and Poultry Science of the University of Georgia (UGA) and the technical support of the Agribusiness and Commercialization Program of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in the Miami office. Dr Karina Martino, Dr Bryan Kiepper from UGA and Dr Marcos Sanchez-Plata from IICA coordinated the content and logistics and participated as speakers at this event. Other participating international speakers included Eduardo Cervantes from Colombia and Fabio Nunes from Brazil, as well as other US and Latin American experts in the industry.

The main topics covered in this edition included technological and regulatory developments in poultry processing, effects of nutrition on processing, trends in value adding, marination, quality and food safety, water use and re-utilization and packaging developments. Around 40 participants from 14 countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, United States, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and even Holland enjoyed lectures, practical demonstrations, laboratory exercises, equipment and ingredient demos, plant tours and other activities that are characteristics of this initiative. The workshop imitated with a talk about perspectives for the poultry industry by Dr Paul Aho, a well-known poultry economist, and concluded at the Packforum Americas in Atlanta with a culinary demonstration with poultry-based dishes by chef, Gabriel Montauti.

This workshop in its third edition in conjunction with the University of Georgia is held annually at the end of the International Poultry Expo (IPE), the Poultry Show that is held annually in January in Atlanta. There is already a sign-up list for participants for the next edition: for more information please contact the organisers, [email protected] or Dr Marcos X. Sánchez-Plata. Workshop participants receive lectures, practical demonstrations a workshop manual and CD with related materials, and tickets to the Poultry Show thanks to the support of the US Poultry & Egg Association.

The workshop coordinators are currently evaluating the possibility of organizing a summer camp version of this event, considering that the 40 participants limit was not sufficient for the number of requests received in 2011. A formal announcement will be made in the next few months. Interested participants or potential sponsors are welcome to discuss their comments with the organisers in the meantime.

Visitors to ThePoultrySite who speak Spanish might like to visit our web site for the global poultry industry in Spanish, El Sitio Avícola [click here].