Food Safety Team

Indu Upadhyaya, DVM, MVSc, PhD

Assistant Extension Educator, Food Safety Faculty

Cell: 860-786-8191 (preferred)

Phone: 860-871-0776

Email: indu.upadhyaya@uconn.edu

Food Safety expertise:

  • Food safety education, safe food handling from farm to table
  • Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point training programs
  • Education programs for farmers, processors and consumers of all ages on produce safety, meat and poultry safety, egg safety.

Mary Anne Amalaradjou, PhD

Assistant Professor of Food Microbiology, Department of Animal Science

Phone: 860-486-6620

Email: mary_anne.amalaradjou@uconn.edu

Food safety expertise:

  • Food safety, fresh produce, meat, eggs

Nancy Balcom, MA

Extension Educator, Marine Fisheries

Phone: 860-405-9107

Email:  nancy.balcom@uconn.edu

Food safety expertise:

  • Safe handling and processing of seafood (HACCP program) for seafood processors
  • Seafood safety education (benefits and risks associated with seafood consumption) for consumers

Dennis D'Amico, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Science

Phone: 860-486-0567

Email: ddamico@uconn.edu

Food safety expertise:

  • Dairy product development, process control, environmental pathogen monitoring, and the development and implementation of food safety management systems
  •  Extension workshops for dairy manufacturers and professionals
  • Natural interventions and preventive controls for traditional dairy foods and processes

Mazhar Khan, PhD

Professor, Department of Pathobiology and Veterinary Science

Phone:  860-486-0228

Email:  mazhar.khan@uconn.edu

Food safety expertise:

  • Salmonella enteritidis (SE) reduction program. Actively involved in the environmental monitoring of SE in poultry farms.  Provide information regarding how to control SE contamination through cleaning, biosecurity, pest management and SE vaccination programs.

Ellen L. Shanley, MBA, RD, CD-N

Dietetics Director

Phone:  860-486-0016

Email:  ellen.shanley@uconn.edu

Food safety expertise:

  • Food safety education and training; online food safety education

Abhinav Upadhyay, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Science Food Microbiology,
Preharvest and Postharvest Poultry Safety

Phone: 860-486-6585

Email: abhinav.upadhyay@uconn.edu

Food safety expertise:

  • Improving preharvest and postharvest poultry safety and production
  • Identification of novel antimicrobials for controlling foodborne pathogens such as Campylobacter and Salmonella
  • Developing novel carriers for improving the delivery and efficacy of antimicrobials

Kumar Venkitanarayanan, PhD

Professor, Department of Animal Science

Food safety expertise:

  • Food Microbiology

Phone: 860-486-0947

Email: kumar.venkitanarayanan@uconn.edu

Food safety expertise:

  • Virulence and stress tolerance mechanisms in food-borne pathogens
  • Reducing pathogens in foods and food animals using natural antimicrobials
  • Decreasing resistance in antibiotic resistant pathogens using plant molecules

Emeritus Affiliated Faculty

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Sheila M. Andrew, PhD

Emeritus Associate Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist

Food safety expertise:

  • Food safety, dairy products
  • Prevention of residues in milk and meat, research, teaching, and extension in methods to reduce the risk of residue contamination of milk and meat
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Diane Wright Hirsch, MPH

Emeritus Extension Educator/Food Safety

Food safety expertise:

  • Safe food handling from farm to table: education programs for farmers, processors, retailers, foodservice, consumers of all ages
  • Good Agricultural Practices, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point training programs
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    Cameron Faustman, PhD

    Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Science

    Food safety expertise:

    • Meat and meat product safety