A Texas Tech Department of Animal and Food Sciences doctoral student was awarded first place today (June 18) in the Ph.D. division of the research poster contest at the 2012 Reciprocal Meat Conference in Fargo, N.D.

Sara Gragg's poster was titled, "Prevalence and Characterization of Salmonella Recovered from Lymph Nodes and Feces of Cattle at Harvest in Mexican Slaughter Facilities."

Gragg's work identified new routes of contamination through lymph nodes and provided an understanding into potential methods of control and prevention of Salmonella presence in ground beef, said Mindy Brashears, director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence and Gragg's major professor.

"She has developed into an outstanding research scientist and research communicator throughout her career," Brashears said. Gragg's involvement in food safety research started at the age of 14 when she won her state and the national FFA AgriScience Fair.

The reciprocal meat conference contest, sponsored by Tyson Foods, Inc., hosted submissions from master's and Ph.D. students from universities across the nation. The conference was held June 17-20 at North Dakota State University.

Reporting by Moriah Beyers

CONTACT: Mindy Brashears, Professor, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2805 ext. 235 or mindy.brashears@ttu.edu

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