Prof. Keith Warriner appeared in national media talking about recent food recalls linked to salmonella contamination in rice and crackers.

He appeared in a series of interviews on CBC Radio programs across Canada on July 26 and was also interviewed for a July 27 BNN Bloomberg story.

A professor in the Department of Food Science, Warriner said salmonella can show up in dried foods and not just in raw meats. Referring to recent recalls by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Warriner said the contamination was linked to whey protein, a by-product of cheese production.

He said salmonella survives a long time even in a dry environment and that some people believe it becomes even more virulent when exposed to heat. Dried products have a longer shelf life, so they tend to stay in the food system longer than raw meats.

He also discussed how salmonella enters the food system and what regulations are needed to prevent future outbreaks.

A microbiologist, Warriner studies food safety in meat processing and the fresh cut sector. His research team studies emerging pathogens, intervention techniques and development of biosensor devices to detect food-borne hazards.