January 23, 2016  

Purdue expert on listeria, foodborne pathogens can speak about dangers, solutions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University expert on foodborne pathogens, including listeria, is available to speak with media about the dangers of these pathogens and ways to reduce public health outbreaks such as the one reported in Ohio Friday (Jan. 22) and attributed to packaged salad.

J. Paul Robinson, the SVM Professor of Cytomics in the Purdue Department of Basic Medical Sciences, has worked in the field of foodborne pathogens for more than 25 years. He is a member of the Purdue Center for Food Safety Engineering team.

He also is the primary investigator in a technology that "fingerprints" foodborne pathogens using elastic-light-scatter technology called the Bacteria Rapid Detection using Optical Scattering Technology or BARDOT. The technology uses light scattering to create a pattern that identifies foodborne pathogens in seconds. His research was funded in part by the USDA-Agriculture Research Service.

Robinson can talk about:

* How listeria forms and grows on food.

* The health dangers of the pathogen to people.

* Ways to reduce contaminations and outbreaks.

* New technologies currently available and in research development that can help reduce foodborne pathogen outbreaks.

Robinson can be reached at jpr@flowcyt.cyto.purdue.edu

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, listeriosis is a "serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria monocytogenes, is an important public health problem in the United States."

The CDC further reports that foodborne pathogens continue to be a health and safety concern. In the United States, the CDC estimates that one in six Americans, or 48 million people, become ill from foodborne illnesses with 128,000 becoming hospitalized and causing nearly 3,000 deaths. In addition, an estimated cost of $152 billion in medical expenses, lost productivity and business, lawsuits, and compromised branding is attributed to foodborne illnesses.

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, 765-413-6031, casequin@prf.org

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