Microbiologist Specializes in Food Processing and Science and Food Safety

Technical Consultant #1092

Microbiological challenge experimental design study.
HACCP development, microbiological validation and verification.
Thermal food processing, food chemistry and food ingredients.
Relationship between food matrix and pathogenic bacteria growth, survival and toxin production.
Working with strict anaerobic bacteria including C. botulinum and C. sporogenes and other food borne pathogens including L. monocytogenes, E. coli 0157:H7, and Salmonella.
Time-Temperature relationship in the thermal destruction of food borne bacterial pathogenes.
Microbiological food safety audits.

Hershey Foods 1998 - Present

Associate Staff Scientist

Technical support and leadership to product development projects involving new product development, product improvement, plant quality assurance issues, process optimization and food safety issues.
Plant QA in the development and implementation of HACCP plans, environmental hygiene monitoring programs and GMP.
Conduct and supervise microbiological validation and verification studies of key processes and programs to ensure food safety.
Conducted studies relating food fill temperature microbiological content and stability.

Assistant Staff Scientist 1995 - 1998

Manufacturing plant audits to ensure that processing lines and equipment are adequately cleaned and sanitized, including the quality of cleaning procedures and effectiveness of chemical cleaning agents.
Developed and provided technical assistance to the implementation of ATP bioluminescence as a rapid tool for measuring cleanliness of washed and sanitized food contact surfaces.

Senior Research Scientist 1992 - 1995

Identified the potential of ATP bioluminescence as a rapid analytical tool for determining the effectiveness of processing equipment cleaning and sanitization.
Conducted trouble shooting studies in the plant which resulted in the establishment of hygiene monitoring programs.

Rutgers University , Research Associate 1990 - 1992

Isolated and identified bacteriocin producing lactic acid bacterial strains with antibotulinal activities.
Studied the effect of nisin on Clostridium botulinum; the mechanism of nisin inhibition was elucidated.

Memphis State University, Postdoctoral Research 1989 - 1990

Studied the microbiology of wetlands and the role of bacteria in the oxidation of ferrous ions in wetlands impacted by acid-mine drainage.

Penn State University/USDA ERRC, Research Assistant, Philadelphia 1983 - 1989

Demonstrated the inability of minimally processed mushrooms to support growth and toxin production by endogenous mesophylic and psychrotrophic C. botulinum spores.
Developed an acid-blanch-chelation (ABC) process for canned mushrooms. Found that acid blanched mushrooms maintain superior color quality and incorporation of chelating agent in the brine inhibited the germination and out-growth of proteolytic Clostridium botulinum spores.
Elucidated the mechanism of inhibition of C. botulinum spores by the ABC process.

13 patents
Member, The Institute of Food Technologists, American Society of Microbiology, Honor Society of Agriculture, Honor Society of Food Science
Ad Hoc Reviewer J. Food Safety and National Research Initiative Competitive Grants

Doctor of Philosophy, Food Science (Microbiology), The Pennsylvania State University

Master of Science, Food Science, The Pennsylvania State University

Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry, University of Ife, Nigeria