Outreach

Donald W. Schaffner, Ph.D. is the Department Chair, a Distinguished Professor and Extension Specialist in Food Science at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He is an Extension Specialist, an honor he shares with other Rutgers Extension Specialists.

In his role as Extension Specialist in Food Science, Dr. Schaffner works with three different clientele groups: Food processors (both large and small), foodservice operators and consumers.

Food processors

Dr. Schaffner assists New Jersey based businesses with their technical problems. He does this in partnership with a team of professionals at Rutgers and others located in New Jersey.

If you are not located in New Jersey, you can locate you local state extension program websites via the USDA. The USDA also maintains a national list of people involved in food safety outreach.

Dr. Schaffner has also written a fact sheet specifically designed to help the new food entrepreneur.

Foodservice operators

Dr. Schaffner oversees the testing and inspection program that helps to keep the food served by the Rutgers Division of Dining Services safe and wholesome.

Consumers

Dr. Schaffner works very closely with his peers the Family and Consumer Science department to deliver useful food safety information for the more than 8 million residents of the state of New Jersey. If you live in New Jersey and you have a question about food safety, please call your local county office

If you think you may have been the victim of food poisoning, you should contact the NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (foods served in restaurants), the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (meat and poultry foods), or the Food and Drug Administration (all other foods).