We are on a Mission:

The Food Safety Center of Excellence was established by the University of Tennessee in December 2000, as part of the university's 21st Century Research Initiative. The center will develop and evaluate strategies to destroy or control food-borne pathogens and reduce the occurrence of food-borne illnesses. Contributing to this work is a multi-disciplinary team of researchers, consisting of members of UT's Institute of Agriculture's Department of Food Science and Technology as well as researchers from departments outside the department. Specialists include scientists with expertise in biochemistry, reproductive biology, food service management, parasitology, infectious diseases and risk assessment.

The team's efforts will be coordinated by the Center's two co-directors: Dr. Ann Draughon, professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology, and Dr. Stephen Oliver, professor in the Department of Animal Science. The two microbiologists created and developed a food safety initiative at the Institute of Agriculture that served as the precursor to the new Center of Excellence.

The University of Tennessee will fund the Food Safety Center with $5 million over the next five years. Current research developed by the Institute's food safety initiative has already attracted more than $3 million in federal and private support.