FRI News

Dec 06, 2018

How Does Our Food Get Contaminated?

FRI executive member Jeri Barak of the UW-Madison Department of Plant Pathology talked to Wisconsin Public Radio this week about how food gets contaminated with harmful bacteria.

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Dec 01, 2018

FRI eNews December 2018

A look back at FRI in 2018; Better Process Cheese School registration is open

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Nov 12, 2018

Beneficial Gut Bacteria Metabolize Fiber to Improve Heart Health in Mice

A new study from the lab of FRI affiliated faculty Federico Rey showed that mice that harbored the butyrate-producing bacteria Roseburia and that also ate a high-fiber diet suffered from less atherosclerosis and had reduced inflammation compared to mice without the bacteria.

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Nov 01, 2018

FRI eNews November 2018

FRI welcomes affiliate expert on food allergies; Agencies debate regulation and food safety of cell-based meat products

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Oct 17, 2018

Meat Masters in Madison

The Master Meat Crafter program and FRI executive committee member Jeff Sindelar recently were featured in Meat and Poultry magazine.

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Oct 01, 2018

FRI eNews October 2018

Flood water from Florence poses safety hazard for humans and livestock; New UW meat lab nears completion

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Sep 10, 2018

FRI's Sarah Engstrom Serves on GMA Advisory Board for Middle School Program

Kudos to FRI research specialist Sarah Engstrom, who is serving on the advisory board for the Grocery Manufacturers Association Science and Education Foundation's new middle school program called Food Fundamentals. This program encompasses topics on food processing and the food system, with the curriculum reviewed by the advisory board. Sarah was happy to contribute her corporate and FRI experiences to this program.

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Sep 01, 2018

FRI eNews September 2018

How dangerous are drug residues in poultry and meat?

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Aug 01, 2018

FRI eNews August 2018

Can parasitic infection alter human behavior?

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Jul 19, 2018

FRI's Federico Rey is Co-PI on Microbiome Study Chosen to Receive Data Science Initiative Funding

FRI affiliated faculty Federico Rey is part of a research team that will develop and apply novel methods to characterize the variations of gut microbial composition with advancing age and age-related chronic inflammation and associated diseases. This study is one of 10 that have been chosen to receive funding from the Data Science Initiative, which has the goal of stimulating and supporting two-year grants for data-sciences research and stimulating development of new research relevant to data science, including new tools for applying data to complex problems.

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Jul 12, 2018

FRI Research Specialist Wins 2018 IAFP Developing Scientist Award Competition

Congratulations to FRI's Sarah Engstrom, who was awarded first place in the 2018 IAFP Developing Scientist Award Competition for her work on "Inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes in a Model Cheese System Based on pH, Moisture, and Acid Type." Sarah is a doctoral student in the UW-Madison Department of Food Science and works in the FRI Applied Food Safety Laboratory.

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Jul 01, 2018

FRI eNews July 2018

Cyclospora outbreak in veggie trays sickens at least 185; FRI awards new Deibel fellowships

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Jun 01, 2018

FRI eNews June 2018

UW research finds that eating yogurt might reduce inflammation; FRI Spring Meeting wrap up

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May 22, 2018

A Hidden World of Communication, Chemical Warfare, Beneath the Soil

The soil supporting a field of crops teems with life. Untold numbers of bacteria and fungi strive for space and food. Most are harmless. Many are vital to creating healthy soil. But farmers worry about a handful of species that cause devastating crop diseases, and they often turn to chemical pesticides to keep those pathogens in check.

New research from the lab of FRI executive committee member Nancy Keller shows how some of these harmful microbes have to contend not just with a farmer’s chemical attacks, but also with their microscopic neighbors — and themselves turn to chemical warfare to ward off threats.

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May 16, 2018

FRI's Kathy Glass Appointed to National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced the appointment of 18 new members and 12 returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF). Among the new members are FRI associate director Kathy Glass as well as FRI Board of Visitors member Aaron Asmus of Hormel Foods and FRI alum Jenny Scott of FDA.

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May 09, 2018

FRI Faculty Receive UW2020 Funding

Congratulations to FRI executive committee member Laura Knoll and affiliated faculty Federico Rey on being co-principal investigators on two separate projects funded through UW2020: WARF Discovery Initiative awards.

Laura's project will focus on Toxoplasma infection and brain function, while Federico's seeks to acquire a new DNA sequencer for the UW-Madison campus.

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May 03, 2018

FRI's Jeri Barak Receives a Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award

Congratulations to FRI executive committee member Jeri Barak, who has received a Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award, which recognizes research and teaching excellence.

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May 01, 2018

FRI eNews May 2018

Antibiotic-free chicken may be less likely to harbor some pathogens; Registration closes May 1 for FRI Spring Meeting

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Apr 26, 2018

FRI's Wendy Bedale Reports on 2017 Microbiome Symposium

The Institute for Food Safety and Health; International Life Sciences Institute, North American Branch; and FRI brought together more than 100 academics, regulators, and industry experts for a symposium, “Microbiomes in Food Safety, Food Quality, and Human Health,” on Sept. 28, 2017, in Burr Ridge, Ill.

FRI science writer Wendy Bedale reported on the event, during which the human gut microbiome and its relationships with diet and disease were highlighted, while the microbiomes of food, food animals, and food manufacturing environments also were discussed.

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Apr 01, 2018

FRI eNews April 2018

Foster Farms found partially liable in Salmonella case; Registration open for Spring Meeting and Food Waste symposium

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Mar 09, 2018

CALS Scientists Delve into the Microbial Communities in Our Digestive Tracts — and Their Implications for our Health

FRI affiliate and UW-Madison assistant professor of bacteriology Federico Rey is featured in this Grow magazine article for his work studying the microbiome and its impacts on health.

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