The scientists will isolate and identify pathogens like Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes from Pennsylvania wastewater using whole genome sequencing (WGS), then work with the State Department of Health to connect isolates to foodborne illness outbreaks.
In 2026, Penn State University will host a series of three-day, in-person short courses designed for food safety and quality assurance professionals, food inspectors, plant managers, sanitarians, and food engineers, overing food microbiology, food science fundamentals, sanitation, and FSMA compliance.
New research has demonstrated a low overall prevalence of Campylobacter on retail chicken meat; however, recovered C. jejuni strains did not match known poultry-associated genotypes, suggesting the need for sensitive detection methods and expanded genomic surveillance.
Thanks to a $200,000 estate gift, the Nettles Cutter Food Safety Endowment will support research in areas of microbial food safety and food safety education.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Dr. Edward Dudley, Director of the E. coli Reference Center and Professor of Food Science at Penn State University, about the potential for wastewater monitoring to aid foodborne pathogen surveillance and bolster foodborne illness reporting.
Penn State Extension will host a two-day webinar in April to help produce growers meet the requirements of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Penn State is offering an online, self-paced course for the food industry on the risks posed by Listeria monocytogenes and how the pathogen can be controlled.
Penn State Extension is offering a new online course to teach participants about the key elements and impact of food packaging. A continuing education unit is available upon completion of the course.
On November 12–13, the Penn State Extension is offering a virtual course to help produce growers comply with Produce Safety Rule requirements under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The option to receive a certificate of completion is available.
Combining genomic sequencing data and artificial intelligence (AI), researchers have demonstrated the efficacy of a new approach for the untargeted detection of contaminants, antibiotics, and other food safety anomalies in bulk milk samples.
