Molecular Biology of Salmonella Attachment to Plant Tissues

The principal aim is to understand the ecological interactions between food-borne pathogenic bacteria (primarily Salmonella) and food structure, in order to understand the mechanisms of survival and growth in situ.<P>
A second aim (supplemented with external funding) is to use derived information on the physiological and genetic response of Salmonella to inimical food environments to develop knowledge-led food preservation and decontamination systems (e.g. development of intervention strategies to prevent the colonisation of ready-to-eat fruit/vegetables by bacteria, and the optimisation of combinations of physical processes for the inactivation of pathogenic bacteria). <P>
A parallel aspect will be the transfer of knowledge to all relevant sectors of the UK academic community and food industry. This will include a strategic relationship with the SFC Exploitation Platform, in which food microbial ecology will be applied to ensure the microbiological safety of, and optimum exploitation of beneficial bacteria in, downstream food processes.