Topic: “Pre-harvest Food Safety”
Speaker: Xiuping Jiang, Department of Food Sciences and Human Nutrition, Clemson University, U.S.A.

Abstract
In the past two decades, the fresh fruit and vegetable industry has rapidly grown due to the health benefits by consuming those food products. Accompanying this growth has been an increasing number of disease outbreaks associated with fresh produce consumption that are often traced back to fecal contamination on the farm. Recent outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in fresh produce have highlighted the need for better understanding the transmission of human pathogens from animal wastes to fresh produce, and improving current agricultural practices. The presentation will address the following:

1. Overview of the microbial food safety hazards on farm.
2. Discussing factors affecting the persistence and transmission of human pathogens via animal manure to the fresh produce and environment.
3. Reporting the research on practical methods, such as composting, for reducing contamination of fresh produce with foodborne pathogens.
4. Discussing the challenges and future directions in preharvest food safety.

Biography
Dr. Xiuping Jiang is an Associate Professor in Food Microbiology with Clemson University, U.S.A. Her research has focused on developing rapid methods for foodborne pathogen detection, studying the transmission and control of pathogens on the farm and the role of animal wastes in the spread of antibiotic resistant pathogens and commensal bacteria.<back>