Food safety

Professors Maeli Melotto and Barbara Blanco-Ulate, who work on crop-pathogen interactions, foodborne illnesses, and postharvest quality, each received funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to research foodborne pathogens on fruit and vegetable crops.

Maeli Melotto’s lab focuses on food safety-related issues, such as how human pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella can live and survive on plants. Melotto organized a national conference which allowed plant breeders and the food safety side to brainstorm solutions for food safety.

In this podcast, Gail Taylor talks about the difficulties in breeding leafy greens for food safety and why it’s imperative to begin thinking about how plant breeders can contribute to food safety. In the future, Taylor really wants to have the ability to breed a safer-to-eat lettuce.

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