Fall 2024 FDSN Seminar Series: Catherine Wong

The Department of Food Science and Nutrition presents its fall 2024 seminar series featuring Catherine Wong, senior research associate at Illinois Tech’s Institute of Food Safety and Health, who will present “Antimicrobial Efficacy of GS-2 on Reusable Food Packaging Materials for Fresh Produce.” This seminar will take place on Thursday, September 12, 2024, from 12:45–1:45 p.m. in room 111 of the Pritzker Science Center.

Abstract

In response to consumer demands towards reducing single-use plastics, retailers and government decisions makers around the world have been adopting new regulations. One notable example is the European Union’s requirement that 10 percent of all food packaging be reusable by 2030. This regulation presents significant challenges for United States food exporters, who must also address new microbiological food safety concerns when utilizing reusable packaging. To address these challenges, a novel antimicrobial formulation, GS-2, has been developed as a spray coating for food packaging materials. This presentation will examine the efficacy of GS-2 on plastic and cardboard food surfaces against Aspergillus niger, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella Agona. Additionally, the presentation will discuss the optimal exposure time, effective concentration, long-term stability of GS-2, and its ability to prevent mold and pathogen transfer from packaging surfaces to fresh produce.

Biography

Catherine Wong is a senior research associate at Illinois Institute of Technology and the Institute of Food Safety and Health under the supervision of Wei Zhang. Previously, Wong received her M.S. in Food Science and Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of British Columbia. Her Ph.D. work was focused on bacteriophage efficacy against Salmonella on fresh produce and an investigation into how Salmonella protects itself against bacteriophage attack. Throughout her academic studies, Wong has been first author for seven peer-reviewed papers and has authored a total of 13 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Catherine has also been the recipient of numerous awards: Walter C. Koerner Fellowship, Hugo E. Meilicke Memorial Fellowship, Kin’s Excellence Award in Food Science, British Columbia Food Technologists Graduate Student Award, and the Mary and David Macaree Fellowship.