fbtechreview.comOCTOBER 20238in myviewBY JUAN F. DEVILLENA, SR. VICE PRESIDENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE AND FOOD SAFETY, WAYNE-SANDERSON FARMSWhen I arrived in the U.S. in July of 1999, little did I know I would be immersed in a micro-adventure. While pursuing my degree in Food Science at the University of Maryland, I was introduced to food safety research. Dr. Jianghong Meng conducted research on retail meats to identify the prevalence of E. coli (generic), Salmonella, and a new bacteria I had heard of before but was not familiar with --Campylobacter spp. I found food safety research simply fascinating, as well as conducting research at the Food and Drug Administration -Center for Veterinary Medicine. With my research and thesis focused on the fluroquinolone resistance of avian E. coli from North Georgia, it was natural that my interest would focus on the poultry industry. When I started my first job in the industry in 2002, I realized that all my microbiology, research, and food processing knowledge came in handy. I was working for a very efficient team with the same objective, producing safe poultry products to feed, literally, the world. Our `enemy' was E. coli and Salmonella. We didn't talk about Campylobacter spp., as nobody did at that time. With innovation, we devised strategies to reduce the prevalence of Salmonella-- a naturally occurring THE MICRO (R)EVOLUTION IN THE U.S.Juan F. DeVillena
< Page 7 | Page 9 >