UC Davis experts: E. coli

The University of California, Davis, has campus experts available to provide facts and commentary related to the bacteria E. coli and it's relationship to food safety and to agriculture.

Food safety and consumers

Post-harvest food safety
Tracking E. coli
E. coli and food safety
Science and policy of food safety
Diseases transmitted via food and water
Consumer attitudes

FOOD SAFETY AND CONSUMERS

Post-harvest food safety

Trevor Suslow is a Cooperate Extension plant pathologist in the UC Davis Department of Plant Science whose research focuses on the postharvest quality of perishable produce. He can discuss possible sources of E. coli contamination in fruits and vegetables, how the bacterial disease might be transmitted to consumers and what industry is doing to prevent microbial contamination of crops. Contact: Trevor Suslow, UC Davis Plant Science Department, (530) 754-8313 or tvsuslow@ucdavis.edu

Tracking E. coli

Rob Atwill is a specialist in waterborne infectious diseases in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. He is part of a team of UC and government scientists who are beginning to track the sources of E. coli O157:H7 in the Salinas Valley as part of a $1.2 million study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which was designed before the recent E. coli outbreak associated with spinach. Contact: Rob Atwill, School of Veterinary Medicine at (530) 754-2154, ratwill@ucdavis.edu.

E. coli and food safety

Linda Harris is a Cooperative Extension food microbiologist in the Department of Food Science and Technology, and associate director of the UC Davis-based Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. Her laboratory conducts research on the food-borne pathogens Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Shigella, Campylobacter, and Listeria monocytogenes. She can discuss food-safety issues, especially those relating to the fruit, vegetable and nut industries, as well as consumer food-safety practices such as the best ways to wash fruits and vegetables. Contact Linda Harris at (530) 754-9485 or 757-5767, ljharris@ucdavis.edu

Science and policy of food safety

Jerry Gillespie, director of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at UC Davis, is a veterinary pathologist with special expertise in the area of food animals and food safety. He can discuss policy issues related to the E. coli outbreak and how science, government and industry are working together to address food safety and food security challenges. Contact: Jerry Gillespie, Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, (530) 757-5757 office, jrgillespie@wifss.ucdavis.edu.

Diseases transmitted via food and water

Dean Cliver is a professor of food safety in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and an expert on diseases that can be spread through food and water. He has served as an advisor to state and federal agencies on a variety of food-safety issues. He can discuss the science of microbial diseases and how illness caused by E. coli can be transmitted to people via fresh foods. Contact: Dean Cliver, School of Veterinary Medicine, (530) 754 9120, docliver@ucdavis.edu

Consumer attitudes

Christine Bruhn is a UC Davis food-science marketing specialist, director of the UC Davis Center for Consumer Research and a national expert on consumer attitudes about food. She can discuss public reaction to the recent E. coli outbreak and how consumers can best guard against food-borne illnesses. Contact: Christine Bruhn, UC Davis Food Science and Technology Department, (530) 752-2774, cell (530) 219-2888, cmbruhn@ucdavis.edu.

RELATIONSHIP TO AGRICULTURE

E. coli’s impact on agriculture

Daniel Sumner is the Frank H. Buck, Jr. professor of agricultural and resource economics in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center, based at UC Davis. Sumner specializes in national and international agricultural policy. He can discuss the impact of the E. coli outbreak on agricultural in California and throughout the United States. Contact: Daniel Sumner, Agricultural Issues Center, (530) 752-1668 or dan@primal.ucdavais.edu.

Conventional and organic agriculture

Karen Klonsky is a Cooperative Extension economist who specializes in farm business management issues, including organic agriculture. She can discuss the implications of the E. coli outbreak for California’s farmers. Contact: Karen Klonsky, Ag. and Resource Economics, (530) 752-3563, klonsky@primal.ucdavis.edu.

E. coli and the fresh-produce industry

Roberta Cook is a Cooperative Extension economist, who focuses on fresh-produce marketing, food distribution and international trade in fruits and vegetables. She can discuss the long- and short-term impacts of the recent E. coli outbreak on the fresh-produce industry. Contact Robert Cook, Ag. and Resource Economics, (530) 752-1531, cook@primal.ucdavis.edu.

Media contact:

Pat Bailey, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu

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Last updated Dec. 8, 2006