Vision: A world where everyone, everywhere is food secure
Stasiewicz Food Safety LaboratoryAbstract Bootie and drag swabs may collect more microbiologically representative aggregative soil samples than composite grabs from produce fields. Previous experimental field work has identified some practical wetting agents as potential alternatives to traditionally used skim milk. This study validates the two most promising wetting agents, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and buffered peptone water (BPW), by […]
Highlights Abstract Prevalence-based performance standards have guided Salmonella control in poultry industry, but concentration- and virulence-based final product standards could target the most risky contamination more specifically. We adapted our previous risk assessment for chicken parts to comminuted turkey to assess the risk in products implicated by different final product standards, incorporating assumptions from FSIS 2024 risk […]
Abstract School cafeteria share tables can address food waste and improve food security by allowing students to share unopened items, such as milk. However, unresolved safety concerns present a barrier to recovering milk cartons on share tables. We adapted our previous share table model to study Listeria monocytogenes in pasteurized milk, assuming a concentration distribution that reflects […]
Highlights Abstract Drag and bootie swabs have been used in animal (e.g., poultry litter) and produce (e.g., soil) production for food safety purposes in place of grabs. Skim milk, the industry standard wetting agent for drags and booties, is not ideal for produce soil sampling due to its allergenic properties and animal-based origin, and (depending […]
Highlights Abstract In the past decade, several quantitative models and risk assessments for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Listeria monocytogenes have been developed to guide the management of these pathogens in fresh produce. However, there is a need to collect and critically review the parameters used to guide their potential reuse in future risk assessments. This review (i) […]
Highlights Abstract Aggregative sampling using polymer cloth swabs is a nondestructive, potentially more representative food safety sampling alternative for leafy greens. This study compared aggregative and produce tissue grab sampling to recover aerobic bacteria, total coliforms, and generic Escherichia coli, from commercial romaine grown in 120 m fields, with 5–36 samples at various stages. Aggregative swabs and […]
Abstract Managing deoxynivalenol (DON) risks is crucial for the sustainability of small grain farms. One approach involves profitable utilization of contaminated grain resources, addressing potential losses from food safety concerns. This study explored distillation as a high-value alternative for utilizing DON-contaminated grain. Naturally DON-contaminated rye and wheat were used in two pilot-scale distillation runs involving […]
Highlights Abstract Corn wet milling (CWM) and corn starch flash drying processing conditions reduce undesirable microorganisms, such as Salmonella. Finished products are historically safe, with intrinsic properties such as low water activity inhibiting microbial growth. Corn processors could use quantified levels of reduction in this study of Salmonella surrogate Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) to update their food safety plans. Industry-relevant conditions […]
Highlights Abstract The produce industry needs a tool to evaluate food safety interventions and prioritize investments and future research. A model was developed in R for a generic produce supply chain and made accessible via Shiny. Microbial contamination events, increases, reductions, and testing can be modeled. The output for each lot was the risk of one, […]
Abstract Composite produce leaf samples from commercial production rarely test positive for pathogens, potentially due to low pathogen prevalence or the relatively small number of plants sampled. Aggregative sampling may offer a more representative alternative. This pilot study investigated whether aggregative swab samples performed similarly to produce leaf samples in their ability to recover quality […]