Food Microbiology Laboratory for the Food Science Student

Dr. Cangliang Shen is an Associate Professor/Extension Specialist at Davis College, Division of Animal & Nutritional Sciences and Family & Community Development, West Virginia University. Dr. Shen worked at IEH Consulting Groups (Research Associate), USDA-ARS (Postdoctoral Research Microbiologist), and Western Kentucky University (Assistant Professor) after obtaining his Ph.D. from Colorado State University. Dr. Shen is currently teaching General Microbiology, Food Microbiology Lab, and Food Chemistry courses. Dr. Shen's research interest is in developing postharvest sanitizing procedures for reducing microbial food safety risks on poultry meat products and fresh produce. Dr. Shen has published 49 peer-review journal articles, 2 textbooks, and 2 book chapters, and secured USDA-NIFA grants over $3.0 million. Dr. Shen serves as the editorial board member of Journal of Food Protection and Food Protection Trends. Dr. Shen received Outstanding Volunteer Award of Food Microbiology Division-Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in 2018. He was the Chair of Food Microbiology Division-IFT in 2019-2020 and he is the Chair of Biotechnology Division-IFT in 2022-2023.

Dr. Yifan Zhang is a Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Wayne State University, Michigan. She is an Editorial Board member of Journal of Food Protection, and a member of International Association of Food Protection (IAFP), Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), and American Society for Microbiology (ASM). Prior to joining the Wayne State faculty, Dr. Zhang has worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at The Ohio State University. Dr. Zhang's research is on molecular characterization and risk analysis of foodborne bacteria, food and agricultural reservoir of antimicrobial resistance, urban agriculture, and the development of novel food safety control. Dr. Zhang is currently teaching Introductory Food Science and Advanced Food Science at the undergraduate level and Microbial Food Safety at the graduate level. 

Food Microbiology Laboratory Safety and Notebook Record.- Staining Technology and Bright-field Microscope Use.- Enumeration of Bacteria in Broth Suspension by Spread and Pour Plating.- Isolation of Foodborne pathogens on Selective, Differentiate and Enrich Medium by Streak-plating.- Enumeration of Aerobic plate counts, Coliforms and Escherichia coli of Organic Fruit Juice on Petri-film.- Enumeration and identification of Staphylococcus aureus in Chicken Salads.- Enumeration and identification Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat (RTE) frankfurters.- Isolation and identification of Salmonella and Campylobacter spp. on broiler carcasses.- Thermal inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Non-intact reconstructed beef patties.- Thermal inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in mechanically tenderized beef steaks and color measurements.- Evaluate antimicrobial activity of chlorine water on apples and measurement of free chlorine concentrations.- Evaluate cross-contamination of Salmonella on tomatoes in wash water using most probable number (MPN) technique.- Cultivation of Anaerobic Bacteria in Canned Food.- Observation and enumeration of Molds from Spoiled Bread.- DNA Extraction and Purity Determination of Foodborne Pathogens.- Practice of Multiplex PCR to identify bacteria in bacterial solutions.- PCR Identification of Listeria monocytogenes in Deli Meat.- Cheese Making and Characterization.- Wine and Sauerkraut Making and Characterization.- Introduction of oral presentation and job interview preparation.- Appendix- Samples of Food Microbiology Lab Course Syllabus.