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BC FOOD PROTECTION ASSOCIATION

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BCFPA 2022 Virtual Annual General Meeting

  • 28 Feb 2023
  • 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
  • Zoom (Virtual)

Registration

  • Attendance is FREE for BCFPA Members

Registration is closed

BCFPA 2022 Virtual Annual General Meeting

Date: February 28, 2023
Time:
5:00-7:00 pm
Location:
Zoom (Virtual)*
Registration: Free for members

*A Zoom link will sent to all registrants between 1 to 3 days before the event.

Managing Risk in a Field of Uncertainty: Foodborne Pathogens on Fresh Fruits & Vegetables



Michelle Danyluk, Professor and Extension Specialist of Food Safety and Microbiology, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Florida

Speaker Bio: Dr. Michelle Danyluk is a Professor and Extension Specialist of Food Safety and Microbiology in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Florida (UF).  Michelle’s current research and extension interests include microbial food safety and quality, emphasizing the microbiology of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and juices.  Her primary research focuses on bacterial pathogens in produce, including production, packing and processing environments, its movement and mitigation within these environments, and the subsequent implications for public health.  Michelle’s extension program includes teaching programs related to FSMA, HACCP, GAPs and other specialized food safety programs.  Michelle was elected a member of the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF) in 2016 and to the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) Executive Board in 2019, where she currently serves as President.

Summary:
Where are we going with food safety, especially for fresh fruits and vegetables? Within the US alone, fresh fruits and vegetables led to 85 outbreaks with confirmed etiology from 2010 – 2017. Unlike products that are processed or cooked, fresh fruits and vegetables are consumed raw with little or no processing meaning that there are very few, if any, steps to reduce microbial food contamination. Food safety programs for fresh fruits and vegetables focus almost entirely on preventing contamination. This presentation will discuss frequently identified sources of foodborne pathogens, routes of contamination onto fresh fruits and vegetables, and mitigation strategies that can be used to help manage risk.


Bacteriophage-Mediated Antimicrobial Sensitization in Salmonella Enterica



Thomas Guy
, MSc Candidate, UBC, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada

Speaker Bio: Thomas received his bachelors degree in Forest Biology from UVic with a minor in biochemistry. He went on to join Dr. Siyun Wangs lab of Molecular Food Safety at UBC, and is currently completing his masters project with Dr. Karen Fong at the Summerland Research and Development Center. His work is focused on combatting efflux-mediated antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella using bacteriophages. Outside of work Thomas enjoys cooking, gardening, and getting outside in the beautiful Okanagan. Upon completion of his degree this fall, he is looking forward to starting his career in the agri-food industry. 

Summary: Salmonella enterica is a foodborne pathogen causing diarrheal disease, affecting approximately 94 million people annually, with 155,000 deaths globally. The rapid emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella poses a significant challenge to the prevention and treatment of foodborne illness. In 2019 alone, AMR bacterial pathogens caused 1.27 million deaths. An important AMR mechanism in Salmonella involves the AcrAB – TolC efflux pump, which expels many structurally diverse substrates, including antibiotic drugs. Bacteriophages (phages) are viral predators of bacteria with a broad potential for biocontrol applications. Despite the ability of phages to control bacterial populations, bacteria can quickly mount phage resistance by altering the structure and/or expression of phage- associated receptors. We hypothesize that challenge with a TolC binding phage will force changes in the expression of pump genes, and/or function of pump components, resulting in an altered AMR profile of the bacterium. During the present study, a collection of 80 phages were isolated and purified from wastewater and agricultural sites in Agassiz and the Okanagan Valley in BC. Host ranges were determined using 20 Salmonella strains from the Summerland Food Microbiology collection. Reliance on TolC was assayed by a relative efficiency of plating assay using a ΔtolC knockout mutant of S. Typhimurium 14028. One successful phage candidate was used to challenge an AMR derivative of 14028 (14028 2a) in a broth-based serial culture experiment. Ten bacteriophage insensitive mutants (BIMs) were isolated, and phage resistance was confirmed via an agar overlay. The resistance to chloramphenicol and tetracycline of the BIMs was determined via broth microdilution method. Fourteen of the isolated phages exhibited a relatively broad host range, lysing 75% or more of the tested strains; however, only a single phage (#80, a Podovirus with rare C3 morphology) attached to TolC. Phage resistance arose after three days in broth culture, at which point ten BIMs were isolated for AMR testing.  Only one BIM (#5) showed changes in its AMR profile, with a decrease in chloramphenicol resistance and surprising increase in tetracycline resistance. These results show that TolC-dependent phage #80 may, in some cases, force a trade-off of host AMR in favor of phage resistance, however the potential for a trade-up must also be considered. This highlights the importance of thoroughly investigating host responses to phage infection when selecting biocontrol phages based on their associated receptors.


We highly encourage you to register, come and participate at our AGM. There will be opportunities to network and catch up with your fellow BCFPA colleagues and listen to your BCFPA board members as they go through last year's 2022 AGM Report and other business.

We will also be announcing the 2022 BCFPA Scholarship Award Recipients.

We are accepting nominations to run in our 2023 Executive Board. If you are interested in volunteering, please talk to us in person or send us an email! We are always looking for volunteers!

2022 AGM Report - click here to read it

Click here to view the event poster


Tentative Schedule:

5:00-5:05 pm - Opening Remarks
5:05-5:20 pm - IAFP Presentation
5:20-6:00 pm - Speaker #1: Michelle Danyluk - Managing Risk in a Field of Uncertainty: Foodborne Pathogens on Fresh Fruits & Vegetables
6:00-6:10 pm - Q&A
6:10-6:25 pm - AGM Business + Announcing Scholarship Awards
6:25-6:50 pm - Speaker #2: Thomas Guy - Bacteriophage-Mediated Antimicrobial Sensitization in Salmonella Enterica
6:50-7:00 pm - Q&A
7:00-7:05 pm - Closing Remarks
7:05-7:30 pm - Networking (Optional)

For more information and to register, visit our website: https://www.bcfoodprotection.ca

Registrants are welcome to send in their questions to our webinar speakers ahead of time - you can email your questions to us at info@bcfoodprotection.ca or post your questions in the chat during our virtual Zoom webinar!




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