Producing Safe Eggs

Dr. Ricke received his B.S. degree in Animal Science (1979) an M.S. degree in Ruminant Nutrition (1982) from the Univ. of Illinois and his Ph.D. degree (1989) from the Univ. of Wisconsin with a co-major in Animal Science and Bacteriology. From 1989 to 1992 Dr. Ricke was a USDA-ARS postdoctorate in the Microbiology Department at North Carolina State Univ. He was at Texas A&M Univ. for 13 years and was a professor in the Poultry Science Dept. with joint appointments on the Food Science and Technology, Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences, and Nutrition Faculties and the Veterinary Pathobiology Dept. He has been honored in 2002 as a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station Faculty Fellow. In 2005, he became the first holder of the new Wray Endowed Chair in Food Safety and Director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Arkansas. He is also a faculty member of the Dept. of Food Science and the Cellular and Molecular Graduate program. Richard K. Gast is a Supervisory Microbiologist at the U. S. National Poultry Research Center in Athens, Georgia. He received a Ph.D. in Poultry Science from The Ohio State University and has served as a scientist for USDA’s Agricultural Research Service since 1987. He has been Research Leader of the Egg Safety and Quality Research Unit since its founding in 2005. The mission of this research group is to protect both the health of consumers and the marketability of eggs by developing improved technologies for egg production and processing that reduce or eliminate microorganisms which can transmit disease to humans or cause spoilage.

Section 1. Salmonella in Egg Production Systems: International Prevalence, Issues, and Challenges 1. Of Mice and Hens—Tackling Salmonella in Table Egg Production in the United Kingdom and Europe 2. Microbiology of Shell Egg Production in the United States 3. Egg Production Systems and Salmonella in Korea 4. Egg Production Systems and Salmonella in Canada 5. Egg Production Systems and Salmonella in Australia 6. Egg Production Systems and Salmonella in South America

Section 2. Salmonella Contamination in Layer Flocks: Pathogenesis, Dissemination, and Current Control Strategies 7. Overview of Salmonellosis and Food-borne Salmonella: Historical and Current Perspectives 8. Salmonella in Preharvest Chickens: Current Understanding and Approaches to Control 9. Developments in Detection Strategies for Salmonella Enteritidis in Layer Hen Flocks 10. Genetic Basis of Salmonella Enteritidis Pathogenesis in Chickens 11. The Relationship Between the Immune Response and Susceptibility to Salmonella enterica Serovar Enteritidis Infection in the Laying Hen 12. Salmonella Heidelberg in Layer Hens and Egg Production: Incidence and Potential Issues

Section 3. Developme 13. Preharvest Measures to Improve the Safety of Eggs 14. Current and Future Perspectives on Development of Salmonella Vaccine Technologies 15. Use of Direct-Fed Microbials in Layer Hen Production - Performance Response and Salmonella Control 16. Gastrointestinal Ecology of Salmonella Enteritidis in Laying Hens and Intervention by Prebiotic and Nondigestible Carbohydrate Dietary Supplementation 17. Preharvest Food Safety—Potential Use of Plant-Derived Compounds in Layer Chickens 18. Chemical and Physical Sanitation and Pasteurization Methods for Intact Shell Eggs 19. Natural Approaches for Improving Postharvest Safety of Egg and Egg Products