Food Microbiology: An Introduction

Authoritative coverage presented in a format designed to facilitate teaching and learning.

Karl R. Matthews is a professor of microbial food safety at Rutgers University. He received a PhD from the University of Kentucky in 1988. Dr. Matthews has earned an international reputation for his work on the interaction of foodborne pathogens with fresh fruits and vegetables. This includes demonstrating the internal localization of bacteria during growth of leafy greens. He further showed that the internalization process is a passive event by demonstrating the internalization of fluorescent polystyrene beads. Dr. Matthews has also been active in research on antimicrobial resistance of foodborne bacteria and development of novel antimicrobial agents.

Kalmia E. Kniel is a professor of microbial food safety in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Delaware She received her PhD from Virginia Tech in Food Science and Technology in 2002. Her doctoral work focused on protozoan parasites. After that, she was a postdoctoral microbiologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory. She is nationally recognized as a leading expert in transmission of viruses, protozoa, and bacteria in the preharvest environment. Dr. Kniel has been active in researching the mechanisms behind the survival and inactivation of norovirus, hepatitis A virus, and other enteric viruses in our water and foods. She is an active advocate for teaching food safety at all levels and has been involved with elementary and secondary education. At the University of Delaware, she teaches courses on foodborne outbreak investigations and the basics of food science and food safety from farm to fork.

Thomas J. Montville is a distinguished professor emeritus at Rutgers University, where he received his BS in 1975. Dr. Montville received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and then worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a research microbiologist before returning to Rutgers as a professor. He has published over 100 research papers on Clostridium botulinum, Listeria monocytogenes, antimicrobial peptides, and Bacillus anthracis. Dr. Montville is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists.