8 ◾ Fundamental Food Microbiology
◾ Understanding of important characteristics of probiotic bacteria and development of desirable strains
◾ Effective methods to produce starter cultures for direct use in food processing
◾ Bioengineered probiotics for health promotion and disease control
Food Spoilage
◾ Identification and control of new spoilage bacteria associated with the current changes in
food processing and preservation methods
◾ Spoilage resulting from bacterial enzymes of frozen and refrigerated foods with extended shelf life
◾ Development of molecular methods, including nanotechnology, to identify metabolites of
spoilage bacteria and predict the potential shelf life of foods
◾ Importance of environmental stress on the resistance of spoilage bacteria to antimicrobial
preservatives
◾ Microbial community, ecology, and quorum sensing in food
Foodborne Diseases
◾ Methods to detect emerging foodborne pathogenic bacteria from contaminated foods
◾ Application of molecular biology techniques, including nanotechnology and biotechnology,
for rapid detection of pathogenic bacteria in food and the environment
◾ Effective detection and control methods of foodborne pathogenic viruses
◾ Transmission potentials of prion diseases from food animals to humans
◾ Importance of environmental stress on the detection and destruction of pathogens
◾ Factors associated with the increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens in food
◾ Biofilm formation, microbial quorum sensing, and attachment of foodborne pathogens to
food and equipment surfaces
◾ Mechanisms of pathogenicity of foodborne pathogens
◾ Effect of food or environment-related stress on gene regulation, pathogenicity, and survival
◾ Effective methods for the epidemiological study of foodborne diseases: Genome-based
approaches to study epidemiology, including whole genome sequence and molecular fingerprinting techniques
◾ Application of bacteriophages and other natural antimicrobials for control of foodborne
pathogens
◾ Control of pathogenic parasites in food
◾ Mold and mycotoxin detection and control
◾ Fish and shellfish toxin detection and control
◾ Foodborne disease control strategies in preharvest (on farms) and postharvest food production
Miscellaneous
◾ Application of hazard analysis of critical control points (HACCP) in food production, processing, and preservation
◾ Novel food-processing technologies
◾ Microbiology of unprocessed and low-heat-processed ready-to-eat foods
◾ Microbial control of foods from farm to table (total quality management)
◾ Food safety legislation including the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011
◾ Understanding of important characteristics of probiotic bacteria and development of desirable strains
◾ Effective methods to produce starter cultures for direct use in food processing
◾ Bioengineered probiotics for health promotion and disease control
Food Spoilage
◾ Identification and control of new spoilage bacteria associated with the current changes in
food processing and preservation methods
◾ Spoilage resulting from bacterial enzymes of frozen and refrigerated foods with extended shelf life
◾ Development of molecular methods, including nanotechnology, to identify metabolites of
spoilage bacteria and predict the potential shelf life of foods
◾ Importance of environmental stress on the resistance of spoilage bacteria to antimicrobial
preservatives
◾ Microbial community, ecology, and quorum sensing in food
Foodborne Diseases
◾ Methods to detect emerging foodborne pathogenic bacteria from contaminated foods
◾ Application of molecular biology techniques, including nanotechnology and biotechnology,
for rapid detection of pathogenic bacteria in food and the environment
◾ Effective detection and control methods of foodborne pathogenic viruses
◾ Transmission potentials of prion diseases from food animals to humans
◾ Importance of environmental stress on the detection and destruction of pathogens
◾ Factors associated with the increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens in food
◾ Biofilm formation, microbial quorum sensing, and attachment of foodborne pathogens to
food and equipment surfaces
◾ Mechanisms of pathogenicity of foodborne pathogens
◾ Effect of food or environment-related stress on gene regulation, pathogenicity, and survival
◾ Effective methods for the epidemiological study of foodborne diseases: Genome-based
approaches to study epidemiology, including whole genome sequence and molecular fingerprinting techniques
◾ Application of bacteriophages and other natural antimicrobials for control of foodborne
pathogens
◾ Control of pathogenic parasites in food
◾ Mold and mycotoxin detection and control
◾ Fish and shellfish toxin detection and control
◾ Foodborne disease control strategies in preharvest (on farms) and postharvest food production
Miscellaneous
◾ Application of hazard analysis of critical control points (HACCP) in food production, processing, and preservation
◾ Novel food-processing technologies
◾ Microbiology of unprocessed and low-heat-processed ready-to-eat foods
◾ Microbial control of foods from farm to table (total quality management)
◾ Food safety legislation including the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011