Food Preservation and Safety of Natural Products

Helen Onyeaka, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, UK. She is an industrial microbiologist with over 25 years of experience in food safety, microbiology, and sustainable food systems and serves as Deputy Director of the Birmingham Institute of Sustainability and Climate Action (BISCA) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her research focuses on microbial physiology, foodborne pathogens, predictive microbiology, and sustainable food packaging. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in food microbiology, food safety, and chemical engineering, and supervises MSc and PhD students. She also develops and delivers continuing professional development programs for food safety professionals and collaborates with academic, industry, and policy partners on sustainability, food systems, and climate-related initiatives.Ozioma Forstinus Nwabor is a microbiologist currently affiliated with the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA. His research interest is in microbial food safety, and public health, with a focus on microbial control in food systems and medicine. The themes of his research include microbial pathogenesis and virulence, foodborne diseases and emerging pathogens, infectious disease control, antimicrobial resistance, and antimicrobial drug discovery. He is also interested in self-cleaning biomaterials resistant to microbial fouling, especially medical devices and food contact surfaces. He was formally affiliated with the Natural Product Research Center of Excellence, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, and the Infectious Disease Research Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand.

• 1. Introduction2. Microbial proliferation and interactions in food spoilage3. Microbial food contamination and foodborne diseases4. Enumeration of foodborne and spoilage Microorganisms5. Conventional preservation and preservatives6. Natural bioactive compounds in food production and preservation7. Incorporation of natural products in food systems and preservation8. Applications of Green Technology in Food Safety and Preservation