North Carolina State University Food Safety Program
Food safety teaching, outreach, and research programs at North Carolina State University can be found in multiple departments. Key faculty at NCSU with active food safety and food microbiology research, outreach, and teaching programs include:
Fred Breidt, Professor, USDA-ARS
Ben Chapman, Assistant Professor and Food Safety Extension Specialist, Family and Consumer Sciences
Lee-Ann Jaykus, Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
Sophia Kathariou, Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
Barabara Kowalcyk, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
Jay Levine, Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
Ilenys M. Perez-Diaz, Assistant Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
Clint Stevenson, Assistant Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
Clyde Sorenenson, Professor, Department of Entomology
Hosni Hassan, Professor, Department of Microbiology
Siddhartha Thakur, Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
Ronald Baynes, Associate Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
Jim Riviere, Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
Donna Carver, Professor, Department of Poultry Science
Jonathon Olson, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology
Christopher Gunter, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Science
Undergraduate Food Safety Studies at North Carolina State University: Undergraduates interested in training in food safety typically apply and enroll within the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. While there is no designated "Food Safety" major at North Carolina State University, there are several options which include food safety as a part of your education. Within the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, students can choose from several degree programs, including Food Science (with either a Science or Technology track), Bioprocessing Science, and Nutrition Science.
Graduate Food Safety Studies at North Carolina State University: Graduate students interested in training in food safety typically apply and enroll in Food Science within the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences with a minor in Food Safety. The interdisciplinary Food Safety Minor at North Carolina State University is a structured training program which includes departments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine.
The primary objective of the Graduate Food Safety Minor is to prepare science professionals with the depth and breadth of training necessary to understand and to control food safety challenges. The interdisciplinary minor includes departments in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Veterinary Medicine with the occasional participation of other NCSU colleges. Participating graduate students are required to have, or to develop during the early part of their training, appropriate knowledge in the basic scientific disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology. Further, it is highly desirable that formal course training in genetics and statistics be part of each student’s academic program. Students in a Master's program are required to have 10 credits from the core courses to earn the food safety minor. Students in a doctoral program are required to have, as a minimum, 10 credits from the core courses.
Graduate Food Safety Minor Core Courses
FSA 520 Pre-harvest Food Safety
Dairy, beef, swine, poultry, and seafood modules: production, government regulation of products, use of antimicrobials in production, and the emergence of resistant human pathogens. Field fruit and vegetable crops section: hazards in food including pesticide residues and philosophy and practice of organic farming and public's perception of food and biotechnology.
FSA (FS) 530 Post-harvest Food Safety
Background on the current issues and developments associated with post-harvest food safety, including biological, chemical, and physical food safety hazards. Additionally, regulations governing food safety and consumer perceptions are covered.
FSA (FS) 540 Food Safety and Public Health
Issues and developments related to the relationship between food safety and public health, including emerging foodborne pathogens; virulence and pathogenicity; foodborne toxins; epidemiological techniques used in the investigation of foodborne disease; rapid detection methods; and quantitative microbial risk assessment in food safety.
FSA (FS) 580 Professional Development and Ethics in Food Safety
Professional development and ethics related to food safety. Food safety communications to lay-audiences and the media are covered, as well as the ethical frontier between science/policy and science/profit. Planned student and faculty presentations as well as guest lectures on current topical issues are planned.