Food Safety

Food Safety and Microbiology

The Food Safety and Microbiology Program aims to continually improve the safety and quality of our nation's food supply. The research conducted is designed to increase our knowledge of microbial ecology with regard to the routes of contamination; this includes on-farm investigations, post-harvest incidence and processing and distribution of foods. The program also evaluates methods and approaches to better prevent, intervene and verify the presence of food-borne pathogens from the farm to the dinner table.

Collaboration with government, academia and industry partners, integrated approaches in food technology are employed to solve real-life problems. Program resources are utilized to deliver hands-on laboratory training to students in agricultural and biological sciences. Strong emphasis is placed on studying fresh and specialty foods to benefit farmers and processors with limited resources.