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Novel Aggregated Sampling and Testing Methods for Pathogen Detection in Produce

Thursday, June 13, 2024

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM PST

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Novel Aggregated Sampling and Testing Methods for Pathogen Detection in Produce

Join us for a webinar hosted by Western Growers Science, featuring Dr. Florence Wu of AEMTEK Laboratories, Dr. Eric Wilhelmsen of FREMONTA, and Dr. Season Xie of BioRad. This webinar will explore new ways to approach microbial pathogen testing in the produce industry. Learn more about novel options that help you get more from your efforts and testing dollars.

Speakers

Eric-Wilhelmsen
 
Eric Wilhelmsen, Ph.D., CFS. 
CTO
FREMONTA

Dr. Wilhelmsen will present information and research data of cloth-based aggregated samples methods that have the potential to generate more representative samples and reduce cost and labor. Aggregated sampling inherently examines more products and presents opportunities for finished product testing and pre-harvest testing. Application to netted melons like cantaloup shows great promise.

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Florence Wu, Ph.D.
President
AEMTEK Laboratories

Dr. Wu will discuss laboratory testing methods and how sample size, enrichment, and detection methods can affect results, as well as ways to analyze cloth-based samples. Additionally, she will explore the latest advancements in testing technology and their implications for data accuracy.

Season Xie Science Webinar Guest
 
Season Xie, Ph.D.
Global Product Manager, ddPCR Food Applications
Bio-Rad Laboratories  

Dr. Xie will talk about the fundamentals of Droplet DigitalTM PCR, the next generation PCR technology, and explore the workflows of the AOAC-approved dd-Check STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) kit to demonstrate the power of partitioning for accurate, culture-independent, confirmed results with reduced cost and labor.

Arelne Haffa
Dr. Arlene Haffa
Professor, Department of Biology & Chemistry
CSU Monterey Bay
Dr. Arlene Haffa is a Professor in the Department of Biology & Chemistry at CSU Monterey Bay. She earned her doctorate at Arizona State University where she used laser physics to study electron transfer in photosynthetic bacteria. Her postdoctoral studies were done at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing. She taught in the chemistry department at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for four years before joining the faculty at CSU Monterey Bay in 2011.
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Cole Smith
Staff Research Associate
University of California, Davis and Agriculture and Natural Resources
Cole is a Staff Research Associate with University of California, Davis and Agriculture and Natural Resources. His primary research area is sustainable nutrient management and soil fertility. His Ph.D. research has focused on the use of organic amendments within vegetable cropping agroecosystems of the California’s central coast, aiming to quantifying tradeoffs between conservation management and nitrogen fertilizer use. Cole holds a master’s degree from UC Davis in Soil Science & Biogeochemistry and has been with the UC system for 8 years implementing extension-based outreach and education programs to divert organic waste from landfills, improve soil health and promote the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.
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Steve Brazeel
CEO 
Elevated Foods

In 2000, Steve Brazeel founded SunTerra Produce, which has grown from a one-person produce brokerage firm into an industry-leading, full-service platform handling sales, marketing, farming, food safety, harvesting, storage, and distribution activities for specialty crop producers on over 10,000 acres throughout the US and Mexico. Born out of SunTerra‘s participation in the USDA’s ground-breaking Farmers to Families Food Box program, Project FoodBox was launched in 2020. Since the program’s inception, the SunTerra/Project FoodBox teams have delivered over 85 Million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to communities in need through its network of food banks, community organizations, and health care plans.

Elevated Foods, founded by Mr. Brazeel in 2020, was recently awarded a $20M grant as part of USDA’s Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities program. Elevated was formed to bring more profit to farmers by incentivizing the adoption of new technologies & practices and providing technical support to help make them more efficient and resilient.

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Featuring Karen Ross
Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture

KAREN ROSS was appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture on January 9, 2019, by Governor Gavin Newsom. 

In re-appointing Secretary Ross, Governor Newsom cited her unmatched leadership experience in agricultural issues nationally, internationally and in California, in areas including environmental stewardship, climate change adaptation and trade. 

Secretary Ross was initially appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 2011.

For more information please contact Joelle Mosso
jmosso@wga.com | 831.706.1841

Copyright © 2024, Western Growers

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Jason Resnick
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Western Growers

Jason Resnick joined Western Growers in 2003 and now serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. His responsibilities include overseeing the organization’s legal department, trade practices department, H-2A Services division, and corporate governance as Western Growers’ corporate secretary.  Jason provides advice and counsel on various legal, business and policy matters. Jason has primary staff liaison responsibility over the Western Growers Board of Directors, and the WG Executive and Labor Committees.

Click here for Jason Resnick's full biography.