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Project Outcomes

Establishing a Summer Internship Program to Enhance Undergraduate Knowledge and Skills on Food Microbial Safety through Research and Extension Activities

USDA-NIFA-AFRI Education and Workforce Development REEU Program (Award #2020-68018-30657)

Project Team: Drs. Cangliang Shen (PD), Xiaoli Etienne (University of Idaho), Lisa Jones, Annette Freshour

We annually recruit 8 motivated undergraduate students with 4 mentors (including 2-3 PhD graduate student mentors) during the 8 week summer time to complete food microbial safety research projects including 1) Evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of electrostatic spray with commercial antimicrobials or triple-wash process to inactivate Salmonella and L. monocytogenes on local fresh produce; 2) Evaluate the thermal inactivation of Salmonella and Campylobacter jejuni by double pan-broiling in moisture enhanced non-intact chicken and feeds products; 3) Outreach activities for WV very small produce growers and local farmers markets consumers and assist to organize annual WV Small Farm Conferences.

Overall, from 2021 to 2025, a total of 34 undergraduates participated in this internship program with 9 graduate mentors. The PD’s team published 2 textbooks, 1 book chapter, 14 peer-review journal articles, 6 undergraduate research symposium presentations, and 16 national food science conference presentations.

Participants

FY 2025: Claire Suszynski, Alyssa Winkler, Celia Hach, Lauren Rogers, Reagan Wilkinson, Adejoke Adediran, Hayley Trotter; Graduate mentors: Carly Long, Precious Aduloju.
FY 2024: Claire Suszynski, Avery Sickles, Willow Helon, Cece Hach, Sara Triplett, Carly Long, Kasia Jaczynska, Hadley Beechinor, Mika Brouwer; Graduate mentor: Corey Coe.
FY 2023: Carly Long, Connor Freed, Alik Browning, Peighton Foster, Jesica Temple; Joshua Malencia, Graduate mentors: Corey Coe, Rebecca Stearns, Tim Boltz.
FY 2022: Anthony Morris, Rebecca Stearns, Alik Browning, Peighton Foster, Jesica Temple, Joshua Malencia; Graduate mentor: Corey Coe.
FY 2021: Jeanna LaBarbara, Anna Loyd, Corey Coe, Carly Waldman, Jessie Pennell, Joshua Malencia; Graduate mentors: KaWang Li, Wentao Jiang.

Outcomes and Outputs

Textbooks (2)

Cangliang Shen and Yifan Zhang. Food Microbiology Laboratory for the Food Science Student: A Practical Approach Second Edition. 2023. Springer. •ISBN 978-3-031-26196-1.

Cangliang Shen and Yifan Zhang. Introductory Microbiology Lab Skill and Techniques in Food Science. 2021. Elsevier Inc. ISBN 9780128216781.

Book Chapter (1)

Cangliang Shen, Wentao Jiang, Corey Coe, and Carly Long (2025). Microbial Analysis. In: Li, Y. (eds) Plant-Based Proteins. Methods and Protocols in Food Science. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-4272-6_8.

Peer-review publications (14)

  1. Jesica Temple, Tim P. Boltz, Jessica M. Blythe, Christopher M. Ashwell, and Cangliang Shen*. 2025. Food Safety Practices Among Small-Scale Produce Growers Exempt from Federal Regulations: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Food Protection, 88, Article 100648.
  2. Jesica Temple, Jessica M. Blythe, Tim P. Boltz, Arron J. Giorgi, Christopher M. Ashwell, and Cangliang Shen*. 2025. Development and Validation of a Novel Classification Framework for Voluntary Food Safety Adoption Among Small-Scale Produce Growers: A Pilot Study, Journal of Food Protection , 88, Article 100630. 
  3. Corey Coe, Timothy Boltz, Elizabeth Rowen, Joe Moritz, Gary Freshour, Md Shafiul Islam Rion, Carly Long, Lucas Knarr, Kristina Bowen, Jacek Jaczynski, Kristen Matak, Annette Freshour, Xue Tang, and Cangliang Shen*. 2025. Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella Surrogate, Enterococcus faecium, in mash broiler feed pelleted in a university pilot feed mill: Microbiology and Food Safety Section. Poultry Science , 104, Article 104998.
  4. Corey Coe, Xinhao Wang, Elizabeth Rowen, Rebecca Stearns, Joe Katz, Timothy Boltz, Md Shafiul Islam Rion, Carly Long, Gary Freshour, Jacek Jaczynski, Kristen Matak, Annette Freshour, Yangchao Luo, Cangliang Shen*. 2025. Applying Microbial Predictive and Machine Learning Model Data to Evaluate Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella and the Surrogate Enterococcus faecium in Reconstructed Ground Chicken Meat Affected by Temperature and Salt Concentrations. Poultry Science, 104, Article 105422.
  5. Rebecca Stearns, Wentao Jiang, Janet Tou, Kristen Matak, Annette Freshour, Timothy Boltz, Jacek Jaczynski, Carly Long, and Cangliang Shen*. 2025. A Preliminary Pilot West Virginia Farmers’ Market Survey of Very Small Produce Growers' Knowledge of Microbial Contamination and Their Perception of the Triple-Wash Method. Food Protection Trend. 45, 42-57.
  6. Peighton Foster, Corey Coe, Carly Long, Md Shafiul Islam Rion, Gary Freshour, Annette Freshour, Jacek Jaczynski, Kristen Matak, and Cangliang Shen*. 2024. Anti-Listeria efficacy of peroxyacetic acid in bacterial buffered solution and on bell peppers. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research 18, Article 101265.
  7. Rebecca Stearns, Kristen Matak, Annette Freshour, and Cangliang Shen*. 2023. Comparison of the Efficacy of Hydrogen Peroxide-Peroxyacetic Acid Delivered by Three Methods Against Listeria monocytogenes and the Surrogate L. innocua on Apples. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 184, Article 114945.    
  8. Jesica Temple, Rebecca Stearns, Corey Coe, Heather Chaney, Janet Tou, Annette Freshour, Yangchao Luo, Cangliang Shen*. 2023. Evaluation of the efficacy of a mixer of hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid to mitigate microbial cross-contamination of Salmonella Typhimurium and the surrogate Enterococcus faecium during triple-washing of butternut squash. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 173, Article 114313.
  9. Connor Freed, Rebecca Stearns, Nettie Freshour, Yangchao Luo, and Cangliang Shen*. 2022. Survival of Listeria monocytogenes on organic Honeycrisp and Fuji apples during storage at 5, 12 and 22.5°C. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 10, Article 100455.
  10. Rebecca Stearns, Nettie Freshour, and Cangliang Shen*. 2022. Literature review for applying peroxyacetic acid and/or hydrogen peroxide to control foodborne pathogens on food products. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 10, Article 100442.
  11. Corey Coe, Timothy Boltz, Rebecca Stearns, Peighton Foster, Robert L. Taylor, Jr., Joe Moritz, Jacek Jaczynski, Annette Freshour, and Cangliang Shen*. 2022. Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium and the surrogate Enterococcus faecium in Mash Broiler Feed in A Laboratory Scale Circulated Thermal Bath. Poultry Science. Article 101976. 
  12. Rebecca Stearns, Jingyi Xue, Nettie Freshour, Kristen Matak, Yangchao Luo, and Cangliang Shen*. 2022. The Efficacy of Conventional Spray, Electrostatic Spray, and Dip with a Combination of Hydrogen Peroxide and Peroxyacetic Acid to Inactivate Listeria monocytogenes on Apples. Journal of Food Protection. 85, 828-834.
  13. Wentao Jiang, Carly Waldman, KaWang Li, Jacek Jaczynski, and Cangliang Shen*. 2021. Survival of Salmonella and the surrogate Enterococcus faecium in Cooking of Moisture Enhanced Reconstructed Comminuted Chicken Patties by Double Pan-broiling. Poultry Science , 100, Article 101171. 
  14. Wentao Jiang, KaWang Li, Yu-Chun Chiu, Carly Waldman, and Cangliang Shen* 2020. Inactivation of Campylobacter jejuni in Moisture Enhanced Non-Intact Chicken Patties by Double Pan-broiling as Affected by Cooking Set-Up Temperature and Pump Rate. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 133, Article 109938.

Undergraduate Research Symposium Presentations (7)

  1. Lauren Rogers. Development of Video Series to Enhance Food Safety Knowledge Among High School Horticulture Students. 2025 Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, West Virginia University, December 2nd, 2025, Morgantown, WV.
  2. Hayley Trotter.  Evaluating the Potential of Micro-mills for Local Fiber Economies Through Hand knitting. 2025 Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, West Virginia University, December 2nd, 2025, Morgantown, WV.
  3. Beechinor, Hadley and Etienne, Xiaoli. 2024. Impact of Bird Flu on the Price Spread between Premium and Conventional Eggs. Barker Advisory Board Meeting, 10/28/2024, Moscow, Idaho.
  4. Brouwer, Mika and Etienne, Xiaoli. 2024. Heterogeneous Effects of Bird Flu on Egg Prices Across Regions. Barker Advisory Board Meeting, 10/28/2024, Moscow, Idaho.
  5. Carly Long, and Cangliang Shen. Effect of Vinegar Water on Chicken Carcasses Contaminated with Salmonella Typhimurium. 2023 Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, West Virginia University, December 2nd, 2023, Morgantown, WV.
  6. Jesica Temple, Rebecca Stearns, Peighton Foster, Corey Coe, Tim Boltz, and Cangliang Shen. Evaluate Triple-Wash with SaniDate-5.0 to Reduce Salmonella Typhimurium on Squashes. 2022 Undergraduate Spring Symposium, West Virginia University, April 9th, 2022, Morgantown, WV.
  7. Peighton Foster, and Cangliang Shen. Modeling the Anti-listeria Efficacy of SaniDate-5.0 in Bacterial Buffered Solutions. 2022 Undergraduate Spring Symposium, West Virginia University, April 9th, 2022, Morgantown, WV.

National Food Science Conference Presentations (16)

  1. Corey Coe , Timothy Boltz, Joe Moritz, Carly G. Long, Cangliang Shen. Modeling of the thermal Inactivation of Salmonella Surrogate, Enterococcus faecium, in Mash Broiler Feed Pelleted in A University Pilot Feed Mill. 2025 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, July 14 to 17th, Raleigh, North Carolina .
  2. Carly G. Long , Corey Coe, Timothy Boltz, Cangliang Shen. Assess West Virginia very small poultry producers’ knowledge of applying mobile poultry processing unit and Evaluate Vinegar Water Against Salmonella Typhimurium, Campylobacter jejuni , and surrogate bacteria Enterococcus faecium during Chilling of Chicken Carcasses. 2025 Poultry Sciences Association Annual Meeting, July 14 to 17th, Raleigh, North Carolina. (Graduate Work in my Lab) 
  3. Gary Freshour, Corey Coe, Carly G. Long, Cangliang Shen. Evaluate the efficacy of commercial marinades with/without microwave heating against Salmonella Typhimurium on chicken breasts. 2025 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, July 14 to 17th, Raleigh, North Carolina. (Graduate Work in my Lab)
  4. Md Shaful Islam Rion, Coe Corey, Annette Freshour, Gary Freshour, Jacek Jaczynski, Carly Long, Kristen Matak, Cangliang Shen. Triple-Wash with Peroxyacetic Acid Can Reduce Pathogenic Bacteria on Cantaloupe Surfaces. 2025 Annual Meeting of International Association of Food Protection. July 25th to 27th, Cleveland, Ohio, 2025. 
  5. Carly Long , Cangliang Shen, Rebecca Stearns. Microbial profile of broiler carcasses processed at a University Scale Mobile Poultry Processing Unit. 2024 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, July 15-18th, Louisville, Kentucky, 2024.
  6. Connor Freed, Rebecca Stearns, Corey Coe, and Cangliang Shen. Evaluate the Survival of Listeria monocytogenes on Organic Honey Crisp and Fuji Apples Stored at 5, 12 and 22.5ºC. 2023 Annual Meeting of International Association of Food Protection. July 16th to July 19th, Toronto, Canada.
  7. Jesica Temple , Rebecca Stearns, Corey Coe, Annette Freshour, and Cangliang Shen. Evaluate a Mixer of Hydrogen Peroxide and Peroxyacetic Acid to Mitigate Microbial Cross-Contamination of Salmonella Typhimurium and the Surrogate Enterococcus faecium during Triple Washing of Butternut Squash. 2023 Annual Meeting of International Association of Food Protection. July 16th to July 19th, Toronto, Canada.
  8. Peighton Foster, Rebecca Stearns, Corey Coe, Carly Long, and Cangliang Shen. Anti- Listeria Efficacy of a Peroxyacetic Acid-H2O2 Mixer in Bacterial Buffered Solution and on Peppers. 2023 Annual Meeting of International Association of Food Protection. July 16th to July 19th, Toronto, Canada. (Graduate’s work in my lab)
  9. Rebecca Stearns , Carly Long, Corey Coe, Lisa Jones, and Cangliang Shen. Survey of Small Local Produce Growers' Knowledge of Microbial Contamination and Perception of the Triple-Wash Method at Farmers Markets. 2023 Annual Meeting of International Association of Food Protection. July 16th to July 19th, Toronto, Canada.
  10. Rebecca Stearns, and Cangliang Shen. The Efficacy of Conventional Garden Spray, Electrostatic Spray, and Dip with a Peroxyacetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide Mixer to Inactivate Listeria monocytogenes on Apples. 2022 Annual Meeting of the International Association of Food Protection. July 31 to August 3rd, Pittsburgh, PA
  11. Alik Browning, Rebecca Stearns, Corey Coe, Tim Boltz, Peighton Foster, Jesica Temple and Cangliang Shen. Impact of Temperature and Salt Concentrations for Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella in Moisture Enhanced Reconstructed Chicken Patties. 2022 Annual Meeting of the International Association of Food Protection. July 31 to August 3rd, Pittsburgh, PA
  12. Rebecca Stearns, Jingyi Xue, Yangchao Luo, and Cangliang Shen. Survival of Listeria monocytogenes and Compare Conventional or Electrostatic Spray, and Dip with a Mixer of Peroxyacetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide to against the pathogen on Organic Apples. 2022 Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists. July 10-13, Chicago, IL.
  13. Corey Coe, Rebecca Stearns , Lisa Jones, and Cangliang Shen. Compare the efficacy of a peroxyacetic acid and H2O2 mix to mitigate cross-contamination of Salmonella Typhimurium and Enterococcus faecium on tomatoes during triple-wash. 2022 Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists. July 10-13, Chicago, IL. 
  14. Wentao Jiang, Carly Waldman , and Cangliang Shen. Impact of Set-up Temperatures and Pump Rates for survivals of Salmonella and the surrogate Enterococcus faecium in Moisture Enhanced Reconstructed Chicken Patties after Double Pan-broiling. 2021 Annual Meeting of the International Association of Food Protection. July 18-21, Phoenix, Arizona
  15. Corey Coe, Rebecca Stearns, Lisa Jones, and Cangliang Shen. Evaluate the efficacy of a mixture of peroxyacetic acid and H2O2 against the survival and cross-contamination of the Salmonella surrogate Enterococcus faecium on tomatoes during triple-wash. 2021 Annual Meeting of the International Association of Food Protection. July 18-21, Phoenix, Arizona
  16. Jeanna LaBarbara, Anna Loyd, KaWang Li, Wentao Jiang, and Cangliang Shen. Survival of Listeria Monocytogenes on Mcintosh, Fuji, and Honeycrisp Apples Stored at 22oC. 2020 Annual Meeting of the International Association of Food Protection. Oct. 26-28, Cleveland, Ohio (*Undergraduate’s work in my lab).