A big congratulations to Hanna Louvau, M.S. student in the Harris Lab, for her first-place win in the student poster competition hosted by the Northern California section of the Institute of Food Technologists, or NCIFT.  The honor was given May 10 at their annual Suppliers' Night event, which includes an educational symposium and a suppliers' expo.  

Hanna's winning poster was titled, "Levels and distribution of Salmonella in naturally contaminated cashews." The project focused on understanding Salmonella in a naturally-contaminated product obtained from a 2021 vegan cashew cheese outbreak. The next phase of her research will use the information she collected to replicate contamination conditions in cashew kernels and understand how the fermentation process of cashew cheese impacts growth and survival of Salmonella given the low levels that she identified.

"Thank you to NCIFT for giving me the opportunity to present my research looking at Salmonella levels on cashew kernels. This is exciting research as the world moves towards plant-based foods. I hope that my research can provide valuable insight to food safety risks regarding cashew kernels and eventually to plant-based products created with cashews and tree nuts. I am incredibly lucky to have the support and guidance of Dr. Linda Harris and Anne-laure Moyne as I continue to grow and understand this issue. Thank you everyone!" - Hanna Louvau