Moorepark Food Research Centre, Cork, Ireland
Teagasc is a national government organisation under the Department of Agriculture in Ireland. It has responsibility for agricultural research, advice, training and education. It has 6 major Research Centres and a network of advisory offices throughout the country with 1500 employees. Moorepark Food Research Centre (one of the major Research Centres) aims to achieve excellence in the provision of research based technological support to food companies. It has 120 employees in three Departments; Food Cultures and Safety, Biotechnology and Functional Ingredients and Processing. Within the Department of Food Cultures and Safety, food safety is one of the main objectives. Ensuring safe products underpins one of our main objectives of creating opportunities based on the competitive advantages we have. We have expertise in the study of foodbourne pathogens (including Listeria spp.) and have supported the food industry in Ireland with regard to Listeria spp. for many years. We have a restricted access laboratory for work with foodbourne pathogens and have all the necessary equipment needed for the project. Teagasc has a Press office and dissemination system that can be used for dissemination of PROMISE results. Moorepark Food Research Centre has extensive experience in participation in EU Framework projects.
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Contact Person: Kieran Jordan
Kieran Jordan works in microbiological food safety and milk quality. His main areas of interest include survival, growth and persistence of Listeria monocytogenes in processing environments, using molecular methods to understand epidemiology, routes of transfer and sources of the bacterium. He also works on other food pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Cronobacter sakazakii, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, and on milk quality issues related to the dairy industry. These interests are reflected in a number of publications in international journals in, particularly in relation to epidemiology and persistence of L. monocytogenes, residues in milk.
He is Chairperson of the International Dairy Federation Standing Committee on Microbiological Hygiene and a Member of the Biological Safety sub-committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
