
Tony z.Jin
SRS (Senior Research Scientist)
U.S. Department of Agriculture
USA
Biography
Dr. Tony Jin is a senior research scientist at the Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. He received BS degree from Zhejiang Ocean University in China in 1981. He earned MS in Food Engineering and Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1992 and 1995, respectively. Dr. Jin was a post-doctoral researcher at the Ohio State University and then pilot plant manager for four years. He also worked as a senior food technologist at Eagle Foods Inc. before joined USDA in 2005. Dr. Jin has over 30 years of professional experience in food engineering, food science and technology in academia, industry and government. His research focuses on nonthermal processing and advanced packaging technologies to enhance safety, improve quality, and extend shelf-life of foods. Dr. Jin has organized/chaired symposiums/sessions in multiple international conferences, authored/co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, 15 proceeding publications, 10 invited book chapters, over 80 meeting presentations at national/ international conferences, and have 7 granted and pending US patents. He received two the most cited journal article awards, the distinguished Gold Medalist Award in Scientific Achievement and Bronze Medalist in Technical Accomplishment from the U.S. Federal Executive Board.
Research Interest
Development of antimicrobial and controlled released packaging systems and other non-thermal intervention technologies for enhancing safety, improving quality, and extending shelf-life of various foods. Special symposium: Innovative approaches to improve food quality and safety with nonthermal processing and active packaging.

Bassam Annous
Research Microbiologist at the USDA-ARS-ERRC
American University Beirut
Beirut, USA
Biography
Dr. Bassam Annous is a Research Microbiologist at the USDA-ARS-ERRC, in Wyndmoor, PA; earned B.S. and M.S. from the American University of Beirut, and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois; 36+ years of research experience in the areas of microbial food safety, food science and engineering, food packaging, and microbial physiology and biotechnology; has extensive experience working on chlorine dioxide gas and thermal treatments for decontaminating fresh and fresh-cut produce; developed and validated novel thermal and non-thermal surface pasteurization technologies capable of reaching and inactivating human pathogens attached to inaccessible sites within biofilms on produce surfaces; has transferred thermal technology to industry; has authored/co-authored 70+ peer-reviewed publications, review articles, and book chapters; presented 90+ invited talks at national and international meetings and universities in USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, Dubai, and Mexico; served as an expert panellist on four FAO-WHO panels on Food Safety and Security; currently working with the U.N. Development Program on developing food safety guidance for the Lebanese food industry.
Research Interest
Microbial food safety, food science and engineering, food packaging, and microbial physiology and biotechnology

Karl R.Matthews
Professor of Food Microbiology
Rutgers University, New jersey
USA
Biography
Karl R. Matthews, Ph.D., is a Professor of Food Microbiology in the Department of Food Science at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He serves as Chair of the Department of Food Science. Matthews’ research addresses farm-to-fork food safety issues. His research covers elucidating at the molecular level the interaction of human enteric pathogens with plants to developing novel sanitizers to improve the microbial safety of fresh fruits and vegetables from post-harvest processing to retail practices. He serves as Principle and Co-principle investigator on USDA and private grants. He is actively engaged in teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level and served as the Food Science undergraduate program director. Matthews has given presentations and lectures throughout the world and taught a Food Microbiology course at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. He has received awards recognizing both his teaching and research. He serves on both NIH and USDA panels and on the editorial boards for several journals. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Food safety. Matthews is editor of Microbiology of Fresh Produce, co-author of Food Microbiology – An Introduction, and senior-editor of The Produce Contamination Problem – causes and solutions. He has published more than 200 abstracts, peer reviewed papers, and book chapters.
Research Interest
Farm-to-fork food safety issues Improve the microbial safety of fresh fruits and vegetables from post-harvest processing to retail practices