Donald W. Schaffner, Ph. D.

Since October 2004, Dr. Schaffner’s team has published three peer-reviewed publications, with three more accepted for publication.  His team has also published one book chapter. 

Dr. Schaffner and his team have published two extension-type publications between 10/1/04 and 9/30/05: One article for the World Food Logistics Organization Showcase newsletter and one for the trade journal Food Systems Insider.  Dr. Schaffner currently has one fact sheet back from review and being revised.

An ongoing CSREES Integrated Research, Education, and Extension grant proposal (Reducing risk of Clostridium spp. food poisoning using predictive modeling, $251,792) will be completed in 2005.  Dr. Schaffner continues to use expertise gained from this research to keep local meat processing companies in business when the USDA-FSIS threatens to shut them down for violations in cooling times and temperatures.

            Dr. Schaffner is also Co-PI (Carol Byrd Bredbenner, PI) on a USDA CSREES Integrated Research, Education and Extension Competitive Grants designed to study food handling and consumption knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of young adults and the impact of a food safety social marketing campaign ($500,000).

Dr. Schaffner is funded by the Department of Homeland Security, National Center for Food Protection and Defense.  Dr. Schaffner is responsible for a budget of approximately $266,099.  He is also serving as interim leader for Public Health response area while Dr. Craig Hedberg is on sabbatical.

Domestic invited presentations

In the last year, Dr. Schaffner spoke at: the recent International Association for Food Protection annual meeting in Baltimore, MD; Interagency Risk Assessment Consortium meeting, College Park, MD; The Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA; FDA public meeting on sprout safety, College Park, MD; World Food Logistics Organization Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV; Department of Food Science, Cornell University; International Sprout Growers Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA; The 2nd Annual Food Research Symposium, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE; USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service Technical Center, Omaha, NE; and the 4th IFT summit on Food Defense Pertaining to Potential Intentional Contamination, Chicago, IL.

Short courses and workshops

Local short courses include the usual seven yearly courses offered through the cook college continuing professional education.  Dr. Schaffner also taught in four other courses: Statistics as a Tool for the Microbial Evaluation of Foods, sponsored by IAFP (August, 2005); Reporting the Science of Food Safety: A workshop for Journalists, co-sponsored buy the Foundation for American Communications and the Institute of Food Technologists (July, 2005); and two sessions of a Special Better Process Control School for Menu Foods (January and August 2005).  Participation in a September 2005 workshop sponsored by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln is planned for later this month.

Discussions at the 2003 Stakeholders meeting prompted collaboration between Dr. Schaffner and the Office of Continuing Professional Education to investigate the impact of Dr. Schaffner’s OCPE short courses.  Dr. Schaffner is currently working on a publication for the Journal of Extension (or Journal of Food Science Education) based on the data collected.

Food microbiology risk reduction program - Rutgers Division of Dining Services

Dr. Schaffner has continued his involvement with the Rutgers Division of Dining Services in an ongoing program that continues to monitor and report on the safety of the products and practices in Rutgers University Dining Halls.  This program provides practical real world microbiology experience to graduate students, as well as useful information to the University Sanitarian and the Director of Dining Services about the safety of foods served in Rutgers dining halls.  Data collected as part of this project contributed to three of the peer-reviewed publications Dr. Schaffner’s lab published this year.

Based on comment received in the 2003 Stakeholders meeting, Dr. Schaffner initiated a new component of this project designed to expose young high-school aged students to the world of food microbiology.  Four students from Somerset County joined one Project SEED student (funded by the American Chemical Society) to work in Dr. Schaffner’s lab this summer.  Two students were returning visitors from 2004.  These five students learned how to make microbiological media, test foods for bacteria, perform sanitary inspections, and to conduct their own research.  This summer research focused on understanding methods for reducing the bacterial contamination on tomatoes.

Service

Dr. Schaffner visibility at the national and international level as an expert in modeling and risk assessment has lead to two significant accomplishments in 2005.  Dr. Schaffner was invited to join the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods.  NACMCF provides food safety advice to USDA, FDA, CDC and other federal agencies.  Dr. Schaffner was also asked to begin service as an Editor for Applied and Environmental Microbiology.  AEM has the highest citation impact of any journal that regularly publishes food microbiology research.

Dr. Schaffner has continued service on the IFT/FDA project, entitled: Development and Implementation of a Risk-Ranking Framework to Evaluate Potential High Threat Microbiological Agents, Toxins, and Chemicals in Food.  In September, 2005 he was selected to deliver the team’s final report to FDA.

Since his last stakeholder review, Dr. Schaffner was also selected to Chair the Technical Review Board of the International Sprout Growers Association; to serve as a member of the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology task force on Microbial Risk Analysis in Food Safety; serving a second term as Panel manager for the USDA  CSREES SBIR Food Science and Nutrition Grant panel; serving on the program committees for the 2nd International Microbiological Food Safety Risk Assessment (Sydney Australia, 2006) and the 4th IFT summit on Food Security Pertaining to Potential Intentional Contamination (Atlanta, 2005); Chair-Elect, IFT Foodservice Division and Award Jury Chairman, for the IFT national Solberg award; Member, ASM Press books committee (2005-2007).

            Rutgers University service includes serving as a Member of the University Biosafety Committee and the Cook College Transforming Undergraduate Education committee.  Dr. Schaffner recently completed service on the College Appointments and Promotions committee and the Cook College Planning Committee, serving as the Chairman of the latter in 2005-2006.

Summary

Dr. Schaffner’s outreach program continues to impact the abilities of food processors, foodservice operators and the general public to manufacture, serve and consume safe food.  His programs reach from local Rutgers University Dining Services employees in the food science building all over the world!