Food Science and Engineering Program

Novel non-thermal technologies

Biological, physical and chemical agents transmitted by various foods causes known diseases in developing and developed countries. Biological infectious agents are the most significant, causing the majority of foodborne illnesses. Nevertheless, harmful toxins and chemicals can also contaminate foods and cause severe illness.  

Emerging food safety issues such as antibiotic resistance, increased resistance of pathogens caused by external factors such as climate change, increased resistance of pathogens by current pasteurization and sterilization technologies, and changes in viral and bacterial transmission from farm-to-fork create new challenges for the industry and consumers.  One effort to address preventing foodborne diseases is the Food Safety Modernization Act, which aims to increase preventative measures across the entire food chain based on robust science and risk assessment. To address these important food safety issues, novel technologies (detection, pasteurization/sterilization) are needed to control resistant microbes (pathogenic and spoilage) and mycotoxins, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. 

The team is developing novel experimental and computational approaches to address food safety issues.