New Brunswick, NJ--Donald W. Schaffner, extension specialist and professor of food science, has accepted the position of director of Rutgers Center for Advanced Food Technology (CAFT).
“With almost 20 years of experience working closely with the food industry, Don Schaffner is an ideal choice to lead CAFT, which aims to be a leader in the development of new knowledge and its application to improve the safety, quality and healthfulness of the food supply,” noted Robert M. Goodman, executive dean of Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.
CAFT works in partnership with industry, government and university researchers to conduct basic research, and is also active in product and process development for clients ranging from major food companies to small entrepreneurs.
Schaffner is an expert in quantitative microbial risk assessment and predictive food microbiology. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and abstracts, and he has been the recipient of more than $4 million in grants and contracts.
Over the years, Schaffner has educated thousands of food industry professionals through numerous short courses and workshops in the United States and more than a dozen countries around the world. He has served on expert committees for the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO) of the United Nations, and he has chaired two expert workshops on microbial risk for WHO/FAO.
Schaffner currently is an editor for the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and serves on the National Advisory Committee on Microbial Criteria for Foods.
He is also active in several scientific associations, including the International Association for Food Protection, the Institute of Food Technologists, the Society for Risk Analysis and the American Society for Microbiology. Schaffner holds a B.S. in Food Science from Cornell University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology from the University of Georgia.
Media Contact: Michele Hujber
732-932-7000 ext. 4204
E-mail: hujber@aesop.rutgers.edu