Laura K. Strawn joins Virginia Tech’s Eastern Shore AREC
Laura K. Strawn joins Virginia Tech’s Eastern Shore AREC
On Oct. 10, 2014, Assistant Professor of Food Science Laura K. Strawn joined the staff at Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Area Research & Extension facility in Painter, VA.
The research center is committed to supporting commercial vegetable and agronomic crop production.
“Among other projects, our lab group is performing water sampling for a project we have going on to help growers on the Eastern Shore establish a baseline for FSMA produce rule proposed water standards,” said Strawn.
FSMA, the acronym for the Food Safety Modernization Act, requires the Food & Drug Administration to write new regulations that establish standards for produce safety. In its proposed Produce Rule, the FDA detailed new standards for the growing, harvesting, packing and holding of produce for human consumption.
Strawn is tasked with complying with all food-safety requirements by the government and private industry.
She earned her Ph.D. in food science, with minors in epidemiology and microbiology, from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, in 2014. Strawn also has an master of science degree in food science, food microbiology and safety emphasis from the University of Florida in Gainesville, and a bachelor of science degree in food science and technology, microbiology emphasis from the University of California-Davis.
The Virginia Tech Eastern Shore Area Research & Extension facility sits on a 226-acre farm that hosts an office complex, laboratories, equipment buildings, garages, a greenhouse, graduate student housing, a large freshwater pond and woodland. More than 25 agricultural crops are grown annually for research and extension studies.
“Food safety is fast becoming a vital part of fruit and vegetable farming operations,” said Butch Nottingham, marketing specialist for the Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, headquartered in Richmond, VA. “We are really fortunate to have Dr. Strawn in our area. She has statewide responsibilities, and she demonstrates a lot of interest and enthusiasm. She basically hit the ground running when she came on board. She likes working with our farmers to enhance the food safety aspect of their operations.”
