International Association for Food Protection elects Linda Harris to Executive Board

Members of the International Association for Food Protection recently elected Dr. Linda Harris to the Executive Board as Secretary. Dr. Harris will take office at the conclusion of IAFP 2013 in Charlotte, North Carolina and will fulfill a five-year commitment to the Association, serving as President beginning in August 2016.

Dr. Harris is a Specialist in Cooperative Extension – Microbial Food Safety in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. She also serves as the Associate Director at the UC – Davis Western Institute for Food Safety and Security and as the Principal Investigator for the Western Center for Food Safety. In addition, she oversees a research program at UC – Davis on the microbial food safety of fresh fruits and vegetables and tree nuts, from pre-harvest through minimally- and fully-processed products.

Dr. Harris has been an IAFP Member since 1987 and has served on several committees, including both the Program and Nomination Committees, as chair of the Elmer Marth Educator Award Selection Committee, as co-chair of two Professional Development Groups, and as a judge for the Developing Scientist Awards. She has also been an editorial board member for the Journal of Food Protection since 2007. She received the IAFP Elmer Marth Educator Award in 2004 and the Frozen Food Foundation Freezing Research Award in 2010.

Dr. Harris received her B.Sc. in Food Science and her M.Sc. in Food Microbiology from the University of Alberta (Edmonton) and holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.