Ep. 177. Dr. Brendan Niemira: Cold Plasma Technology for Food Safety and Sanitation
Release Date: 09/10/2024
Elanco: Diagnostics and the Role of Testing in Ensuring Food Safety
Food Safety Matters
Savannah Applegate, Ph.D. is a Senior Consultant at Elanco Poultry Food Safety. Dr. Applegate received her B.S. degree in Meat Science from Ohio State University and her M.S. degree and Ph.D. in Applied Food Microbiology from Texas Tech University. Her areas of expertise are meat and poultry food safety, and she specializes in diagnostics and pathogen mitigation. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Dr. Applegate [1:10] about: The importance of diagnostics for ensuring food safety and implementing effective disease management protocols in the poultry industry ...
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Ep. 194. Alex Truelove: Impending Compliance Changes for Compostable Food Packaging
Food Safety Matters
Alex Truelove has served as Legislation and Advocacy Manager at BPI (Biodegradable Plastics Institute) since 2022. He previously directed U.S. PIRG's (Public Interest Research Group's) zero-waste program. He remains passionate about waste reduction, public policy, and working with others to incrementally solve messy environmental problems. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Alex [30:28] about: The work of the Biodegradable Plastics Institute (BPI) California law AB 1201, which goes into effect in January 2026 and makes significant changes to compliance for compostable...
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Bonus Episode: Live from the 2025 Food Safety Summit—Part 2
Food Safety Matters
To get a taste of the discussions that were happening at the 2025 Food Safety Summit, we spoke face-to-face with Sharon Beals, Founder, SKKB; Peter Taormina, Ph.D., Founder and President, Etna Consulting Group; Sandra Eskin, J.D., CEO, STOP Foodborne Illness; John O'Fallon, Senior Manager Environmental Sensors, Zebra Technologies; Monica Khoury, Senior Quality Expert, Nestlé; and Lily Yasuda, Program Manager, Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with: Sharon Beals and Dr. Peter Taormina [2:24] about the function and limitations...
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Bonus Episode: Live from the 2025 Food Safety Summit—Part 1
Food Safety Matters
To get a taste of the discussions that were happening at the 2025 Food Safety Summit, we spoke face-to-face with keynote speaker Jason Evans, Ph.D., Dean, College of Food Innovation and Technology, Johnson & Wales University; as well as Brian Ronholm, M.A., Director of Food Policy, Consumer Reports; Michael Fang, Co-Founder, Spectacular Labs; and Steven Lyon, Ph.D., Director, Food Safety—Field Operations, Chick-fil-A Inc.; Purni Wickramasinghe, Ph.D., Food Safety & Restaurant Solutions, Chick-fil-A Inc. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with: Dr. Jason Evans [30:39]...
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Ep. 193. Christian Ararat: A Global Perspective on Auditing, Certifications, AI, and Beyond
Food Safety Matters
Christian Ararat, M.Sc., M.Eng. is a food safety professional with more than ten years of experience in food safety and quality. After earning a bachelor's degree in Food Science from Valley University in Colombia, he began his career in the bakery industry, where he implemented and enforced good manufacturing practices (GMPs) and prerequisite programs. After moving to Canada, Christian joined Natursource Inc., a Montreal-based food manufacturing company dedicated to producing healthy snacks. As head of the Quality Assurance department, Christian implemented the Global Food Safety Initiative...
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Ep. 192. Alfredo Fernández: Emerging U.S. Regulations for PFAS in Food Contact Materials
Food Safety Matters
Alfredo Fernández, J.D. is an attorney and Partner at Shipman & Goodwin LLP. As a member of the firm's national Environmental Practice, Alfredo advises clients across industry types on environmental, health, and safety issues that arise in all areas of business operations. Risk management pertaining to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is one area of focus. Alfredo also counsels private and public entities regarding abatement of hazardous materials and conditions. He received his J.D. from University of Connecticut School of Law and holds a B.S. degree from the University of...
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Ep. 191. Dr. Edward Dudley: Wastewater Monitoring for Foodborne Pathogen Surveillance
Food Safety Matters
Edward G. Dudley, Ph.D. is the Director of the E. coli Reference Center and a Professor of Food Science at the Pennsylvania State University. He has a broad background in molecular biology, physiology, and foodborne bacteria genomics, with expertise in both beneficial and pathogenic species. His current research program focuses on factors that drive the virulence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and the development of DNA sequence-based methods for tracking pathogen spread during foodborne illness outbreaks, including wastewater monitoring. Dr. Dudley is a past Chair of the Food Microbiology...
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Ep. 190. Phil Kafarakis: Ensuring Food Safety for Food Away From Home
Food Safety Matters
Phil Kafarakis is the President and CEO of IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, formerly known as the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association. He is responsible for overseeing IFMA's day-to-day operations and directing the activities of the association in support of its policies, goals, and objectives. Phil is a highly accomplished senior executive with broad experience leading major food industry companies and associations. He began his industry career in the manufacturing sector, successfully leading and managing businesses at Kraft, Jones Dairy Farm, Cargill, and...
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Hygiena: Optimizing Data for Improved Food Safety Risk Management and Compliance
Food Safety Matters
Mark Carter is the Senior Software Product Manager at Hygiena. He assumed the presidency of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) at the conclusion of the IAFP Annual Meeting in July 2024. Mr. Carter has extensive international business and technical experience. He most recently served as COO of Matrix Sciences, as well as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, where he was responsible for Matrix Sciences Mergers and Acquisitions activity. He previously held positions as CEO of QC Laboratories and Corporate Vice President of Research and Development with...
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Ep. 189. Dr. Jason Evans: Leadership When Nothing is Easy—A Food Safety Summit Keynote Preview
Food Safety Matters
Jason Evans, Ph.D. is the Dean of the College of Food Innovation and Technology (CFIT) at Johnson & Wales University, which offers baccalaureate and graduate programming in Culinary Arts, Culinary Science, Culinary Nutrition, Food and Beverage Entrepreneurship, and Sustainable Food Systems. Formerly, Dr. Evans was an Associate Professor of Agricultural Business Management at the State University of New York's College of Agriculture and Technology, Cobleskill (SUNY Cobleskill), where he also served as the Director of the Institute for Rural Vitality and Chair of the Department of...
info_outlineBrendan A. Niemira, Ph.D. is a research microbiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA's ARS) in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of the University of Chicago and Michigan State University. His research develops and validates cold plasma, pulsed light, radiofrequency energy, and other nonthermal food processing technologies. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed research articles, book chapters, and critical reviews, is the co-editor and author of a well-regarded reference text, and holds one patent. Dr. Niemira is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and a past member of the IFT Board of Directors. He currently serves on the Educational Advisory Board for the Food Safety Summit. A member of IFT, the International Association for Food Protection, and the American Society for Microbiology for more than 20 years, he also serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Food Protection and Applied and Environmental Microbiology. He received the 2016 U.S. Department of Defense Award for Excellence and the 2020 Federal Laboratory Consortium Technology Transfer Innovation Award.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Brendan [22:52] about:
- The definition of cold plasma technology and how it can be used in the food industry to improve microbial safety
- The strengths and weaknesses of different forms of cold plasma
- Types of food for which cold plasma can be used to successfully decontaminate, and why it works best for certain food types
- Comparisons between cold plasma technology and other thermal and nonthermal decontamination techniques
- Why cold plasma technology has not yet been scaled up for widespread industry use, and for what applications commercialization could be achieved
- Factors that affect the energy costs of different cold plasma generation methods
- The possibility of adapting cold plasma technology to inactivate viruses in foodservice environments
- Human occupational health and safety considerations in the generation of cold plasma
- Takeaways from a workshop and session on root cause analysis that took place at the 2023 and 2024 Food Safety Summits, respectively
- Other research areas Dr. Niemira is working on at USDA-ARS to advance food safety.
News and Resources
NewsDraft EU Act Would Require WGS Analysis for Foodborne Illness Investigations [5:45]
Study Finds GRAS Carcinogenicity Data are Adequate, but Could Use a Standardized Approach [8:57]
USDA-FSIS to Begin Routine Monitoring for HPAI in Dairy Cows Under National Residue Program [15:00]
Researchers Offer New Tool to Identify Top Microbial Threats to Infant Foods [18:28]
Resources
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