• Microbial Food Safety
• Applied Microbiology

EDUCATION:

1991   Ph.D. Microbiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
1986   M.Sc. Food Microbiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
1983   B.Sc. Food Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

POSITIONS HELD:

Cooperative Extension Specialist, Department of Food Science & Technology, UC Davis, Davis CA 1996 - present
Assistant Professor, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario 1991 - 1996
Microbiologist, Quality Control, Central Alberta Dairy Pool, Red Deer, Alberta 1982 - 1984

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:

My research and extension programs cover the broad area of microbial food safety. Educational programs relate to all aspects of the food chain from farm to fork or from producer to processor to food service to consumer. In addition to organizing and participating in a wide variety of workshops, I maintain an active research program that includes microbial safety and spoilage issues related to fresh and processed fruits, vegetables and meats.

Dr. Harris is Scientific Communicator for the Institute of Food Technologists and she is actively involved with the International Association of Food Protection. She is currently a member of the IFT/FDA Task Force 3 charged with producing a series of documents related to the microbial safety of fresh fruits and vegetables. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Food Protection and Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS:

• Effect of freezing on the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in apple cider.
• Evaluation of an experimental sanitizer formulation for reduction of selected pathogenic microorganisms that may be present on fresh produce.
• Evaluation of the botulism hazard associated with garlic and herb flavored and infused oils.
• Developing scientific-based messages for consumer handling of fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Evaluation of baseline and intervention strategies for the production of fresh apple cider.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

• Barakat, R.K., M.W. Griffiths, and L.J. Harris. 2000. Isolation and characterization of Carnobacterium, Lactococcus, and Enterococcus spp. from modified atmosphere packaged, refrigerated, poultry. Int. J. Food Microbiol. (Accepted).
• Harris, L.J., D. Zagory, and J. Gorny. 2000. Safety factors. In Kader, A. (ed.) Postharvest technology of horticultural crops. Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California (in press).
• Knight, K.P., F.M. Bartlett, R.C. McKellar, and L.J. Harris. 1999. Nisin reduces the thermal resistance of Listeria monocytogenes Scott A in liquid whole egg. J. Food Prot. 62:999-1003.
• Reid, D.S. and L.J. Harris. 1999. Microorganisms and microbial toxins, p.9-21. In Jackson et al. (eds.) Impact of processing on food safety. Plenum Publishers, New York.
• Barakat, R.K. and L.J. Harris. 1999. Growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia enterocolitica on cooked modified atmosphere packaged poultry in the presence and absence of a naturally-occurring microbiota. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:342-345.
• Keith, W. D., L. J. Harris and M. W. Griffiths. 1998. Reduction of bacterial levels in flour by pulsed electric fields. J. Food Proc. Eng. 21:263-269.
• Keith, W.D., L.J. Harris, L. Hudson, and M.W. Griffiths. 1998. Pulsed electric fields as a processing alternative for microbial reduction in spice. Food Res. Int. 30:185-191.
• Harris, L.J. 1998. Microbiology of vegetable fermentations, p. 45-72. In B. Woods (ed.) Microbiology of fermented foods, 2nd ed. Thompson Science, London.
• Powell, D.P. and L.J. Harris. 1997. Hamburger hell: better risk communication for better health, 77-98. In D. Powell (ed.) Mad cows and mother's milk. Case studies in risk communication. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal.
• Steele, M. S. Read, C. Poppe, L.J. Harris, A.M. Lammerding, W.B. McNab, J. Odumeru. 1997. Analysis of whole cell fatty acid profiles of verotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enteritidis using the microbial identification system. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63(2):757-760.
• Howes, M.P., M.W. Griffiths, L.J. Harris, and S.A. McEwen. 1996. Impact of a home study training program on food safety knowledge and practices of food handlers. Dairy Food Environ. San. 16:737-744.
• Cottrell, T., L.J. Harris, T. Tanaka, and R.Y. Yada. 1995. The effect of site-directed mutagenesis of Lys 319 on the structure and function of porcine pepsinogen and pepsin. J. Biol. Chem. 270:19974-19978.
• Jackman, R.L., T. Cottrell., and L.J. Harris. 1995. Protein Engineering. In Y.H. Hui and G.G. Khachatourians (ed.) Food Biotechnology: Microorganisms, Volume I: Principles and General Applications, VCH Publishers, New York.
• Lammerding, A.M., M. Steele, L.J. Harris, J.J. Kolar, and J. Odumeru. 1995. Evaluation of a rapid fatty acid analysis system for typing Listeria monocytogenes. Conference Proceedings XII International symposium on problems of listeriosis, October 1995.