Food Safety Magazine, June/July 2011

FOCUS: TRAINING

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We thank the following for providing financial support: MSU Extension’s (MSUE) Multicultural Action Mini-Grants for the development of the ethnic consumer prototypes, the MSUE Area of Expertise Competitive Mini-Grants and the USDA’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Program for the piloting of the Mexican toolkit and resources for refugees. We also thank the Michigan Department of Agriculture for the development of the prototype resources for ethnic restaurants. n

Lillian G. Po, Ph.D. is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. She obtained her Ph.D. in Food Science from Michigan State University (MSU). She teaches graduate online courses on ethnic foods and food safety. She has developed training curricula and presented food safety programs targeting ethnic audiences. She is also consulting for industry around food processing, food quality and safety issues. She can be reached at pol@missouri.edu.

Leslie D. Bourquin, Ph.D. is a professor and food safety specialist in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at MSU. He also holds appointments in the Center for Advanced Studies in International Development and the Center for Integrative Toxicology at MSU. His research program focuses on the impacts of public and private food safety standards, barriers to their acceptance and effective implementation by the food industry, and the efficacy of these standards to protect public health. His outreach and development work focuses on applied research, capacity development and risk communication on food safety issues. He has worked extensively on international food and agriculture development projects in numerous countries. He can be reached at bourqui1@msu.edu.

Luis G. Occeña, Ph.D. is chair of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO. He obtained his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. His research experience and interests include Scalable Systems and Information Integration, Computer-aided Process Modeling, Product Life Cycle Management, Industrial Automation and Industrial Engineering applications in healthcare, energy, food and manufacturing systems. He teaches courses in Computer-aided Design and Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management. He can be reached at occenal@missouri.edu.

Edgar C. Po, Ph.D. obtained his Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Sciences as a Fulbright scholar at MSU, where he managed the Food Domain website. He completed his post-doctoral training at the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, where he was involved with research in ethnic food safety transport. He is now consulting in the Philippines for industry and government in the area of precision agriculture. He can be reached at poe@missouri.edu.