Become a UC Master Food Preserver in Orange County

The Master Food Preserver (MFP) program is a public-service community outreach program providing up-to-date information on food safety and food preservation.  A Master Food Preserver is a volunteer who is formally educated in food preservation and food safety and is certified by a university cooperative extension. Volunteers are qualified to teach food preservation and food safety in addition to disseminating that information via lectures, presentations, and other county events.

New Certification Classes Begin September 2025 

A Master Food Preserver volunteer certification class for Orange County residents is scheduled to begin in September 2025, dates and times to be determined. Certification in the program requires completion of a 10 week food preservation/food safety training class with hands-on training, a weekly test, an oral presentation with demonstration and a final written exam. Classes are scheduled approximately every Tuesday from 10am-2pm for a total of 10 weeks. There will be some weeks with no instruction due to scheduling conflicts.  All classes are scheduled to be in person at the South Coast Research & Extension Center (SCREC) in Irvine.

The training is restricted to residents of Orange County. 

All interested applicants are required to REGISTER and ATTEND an Information Day presentation in person in order to be able to apply for this class.  This is mandatory. No exceptions.

The Information Days presentations will be scheduled in mid-2025 at our facility at South Coast Research & Extension Center in Irvine.  You must be on time for one of these presentations.  

The Information Day presentation will provide more details regarding the applicant requirements, fees, responsibilities, and the syllabus.   All applicants will participate in a live interview in person at the end of the presentation.  At the conclusion of the presentation, we will then provide a link to an online application. 

South Coast Research & Extension Center is located at 7601 Irvine Blvd, Irvine, CA 92618.   Questions? Email us at uccemfp@ucdavis.edu

If you are not on our email list, please sign up here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/MFPOC/Add_Me_To_Your_Email_List/

Questions? Contact us.