Alejandro Echeverry, an expert in food safety management and training, has been named an assistant professor in Texas Tech's Department of Animal and Food Sciences, according to officials within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. He officially stepped into his new teaching and research post on Sept. 1.

The Colombian native indicated that he is particularly interested in continuing his research efforts on improving, validating and implementing antimicrobial interventions to improve the safety of beef products, especially in developing countries, with the goal to increase their ability to export to the United States. He indicated that he will work closely with the International Center for Food Industry Excellence and its goal to provide the world with a safer food supply, while increasing the research and outreach efforts of Tech's Department of Animal and Food Sciences.

One of his primary goals here at Tech is to carry out research on determining the differences in susceptibilities to temperatures, pH, and other factors among Shiga Toxigenic producing Escherichia coli strains, pathogens that can cause severe, acute hemorrhagic diarrhea and even death if present in contaminated products.

Echeverry, who currently teaches an undergraduate food science course, principles of food engineering, at Tech, brings 13 years of experience in food industry and research to his new position at Tech, including meat packing and ready to eat (RTE) operations, as well as quality assurance, hazard analysis and critical control points and food safety management training for English and Spanish speakers, in-plant validation studies, validation of interventions, food microbiology techniques and biosecurity protocols. In addition, he has expertise and experience in different food matrices and processes, including beef, pork, poultry, RTE meats, bread, shrimp, leafy greens, and microwaves.

Prior to joining the Tech faculty, Echeverry worked as a research assistant professor in food microbiology and as a post-doctoral research associate at Texas Tech, where he conducted, among other projects, the determination of the prevalence of Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 in fresh beef and pork products in multiple retail outlets in major cities in Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica; Assessment of laboratory needs in food analysis laboratories of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the identification and comparison of antibiotic resistance patterns in Salmonella among cattle populations.

Echeverry received his bachelor's degree in food engineering from the Corporación Universitaria Lasallista in Medellín, Colombia. His master's degree in food sciences and doctorate degree in animal sciences are from Texas Tech. He is a member of the Institute of Food Technologists, International Association for Food Protection, and the American Meat Science Association, and serves as reviewer for the Journal of Food Science, the Journal of Food Protection, and Meat Science.

Written by Norman Martin

CONTACT: Michael Orth, chairman, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-5653 or michael.orth@ttu.edu

0901NM14