The resistome of foods and associated processing environments

Main Lecture

Although food production systems may act as a transmission route for antimicrobial resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (AMRG) to humans, the microbial resistome of foods and associated processing environments remains poorly characterised. The talk will provide an overview of recent efforts performed in the frame of the EU funded project MASTER surveying the resistome of >1,500 samples of raw materials, final products and industrial surfaces collected across >100 European facilities producing cheese, meat, vegetables and fish products.

Prof. Avelino Alvarez Ordonez

Full Professor of the Department of Food Hygiene and Technology of the University of León, Spain. He previously worked at University College Cork, Ireland (2010 – 2013) and Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ireland (2013 – 2016). Principal Investigator of projects funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the BBVA Foundation, Science Foundation Ireland and the European Commission. He has published to date more than 150 research articles in international peer-reviewed journals and has participated as a speaker at numerous conferences and seminars, both nationally and internationally. He is a member of the panel on biological hazards (BIOHAZ) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) since July 2018. His research focuses on exploiting knowledge about food microbiomes to improve food quality and safety.