Poster Sessions

Posters will be on display, and presenters will be available to answer questions during the following times:

• Thursday, March 13 from 10:15 to 10:30 a.m.
• Thursday, March 13 from 4 to 6 p.m.
• Friday, March 14 from 10:15 to 10:30 a.m.

Interpretations of Ready-to-Eat Foods: Qualitative Comparison, Consumers Versus Produce Growers
Consumers’ handling practices of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods may be influenced by how they perceive them. To explore and document their perspectives, interviews and focus groups were used to collect information from consumers and produce growers respectively on their interpretations of RTE foods.
Presenters: Elma Kontor-Manu, Suyapa Fabiola Rojas-Oropel, Yaohua Feng

Leadership Roles in Food Safety
This presentation discusses leadership role to evaluate current food safety programs with an objective to elevate strong food safety culture.
Presenter: Srinivasaraoh Bandla

Improving Food Safety: Carvacrol Nanoemulsion for Salmonella Biofilm Control
This study explores the use of carvacrol nanoemulsion (CRNE) as a natural sanitizer against Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) biofilms on plastic surfaces. CRNE significantly reduced SE biofilms, with up to 4.5 log CFU/ml reduction observed. CRNE also downregulated SE genes responsible for biofilm development, indicating potential for improving food safety practices.
Presenter: Trushenkumar Shah

Leftover Food Handling Practices Among Minority Populations
This study examines leftover food handling practices among PVAMU students. Most students bring home and store leftovers, but some have unsafe habits like leaving food out at room temperature. Understanding these practices can help improve food safety education and reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses in underserved communities.
Presenter: Mahta Moussavi

Minimizing the Impact of Home Food Waste
A Materials Management Environmental Analyst and Extension Educators will present on the environmental, social, and economic impacts of food waste and provide education on how to reduce home food waste. Information and tools will be distributed on how consumers can safely manage food waste in the most sustainable ways possible.
Presenters: Bridget Morrisroe, Catherine Milner

Communicating Food Safety to Consumers on Social Media: Instagram Lessons
Social media is a powerful and cost-effective tool for disseminating food safety information to broad audiences. This study uses Instagram as a case study to explore how different post types and formats can engage consumers with food safety content.
Presenters: Han Chen, Anastasia Elizabeth Crane

Teens Serving Food Safely Program Makes a Difference
“Teens Serving Food Safely” is a statewide classroom education effort of high school teachers and Extension. Knowledge scores have significantly increased and behavior has improved among 11,972 participants. Teens are washing their hands more often (83%), sharing their knowledge (50%), and handling food more safely for the public (41%).
Presenter: Julie Garden-Robinson