The World Health Organization celebrated World Food Safety Day on June 7 to bring awareness to foodborne risks. The 2026 theme is “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere.”
To promote safe food everywhere, the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety has focused its latest efforts on developing machine learning technology to rapidly identify bacterial families, as well as pioneering antimicrobial blue-light innovations for future commercial and at-home use.
Established in 2018 through a U.N. General Assembly resolution, the day seeks to bring global awareness to foodborne risks and celebrate the myriad benefits of safe food.
When it comes to researching ways to reduce the impact of harmful microorganisms in the food supply, the UGA CFS has an internationally recognized reputation. Microbiologists throughout the university examine ways to improve food safety both within the U.S. and globally.
The CFS mission is to conduct innovative research to improve the safety of food by prevention, detection and control of contamination and transmission of foodborne pathogens, addressing the needs of public and private stakeholders locally and globally.
Using Machine Learning to Identify Foodborne Risks
By transforming complex genomic data into actionable field diagnostics, UGA’s research bridges the gap between agricultural public health burdens and scalable, high-tech solutions that protect consumers worldwide. Researchers Xiangyu Deng and Henk den Bakker at the CFS are leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline how we detect dangerous foodborne microbes. By feeding the DNA sequences of bacterial pathogens into a machine learning database, their system compares unknown samples against thousands of genetic profiles in a massive global pool to instantly pinpoint the specific bacterial family.
This computational approach yields massive benefits for agricultural sectors and public health. By eliminating the need for expensive, labor-intensive traditional laboratory testing, machine learning significantly lowers long-term overhead costs for research organizations.
More importantly, the system slashes turnaround times for identification. Because public health officials no longer have to wait days to confirm a pathogen’s identity, they can declare recalls, trace outbreaks to their source and issue public mitigation strategies within hours rather than weeks.
This rapid-response capability directly advances the global mission of World Food Safety Day 2026, which centers on the theme, “From burden to solutions – safe food everywhere.”
Testing Solutions for Leading Bacteria
While genomic tracking helps scientists map outbreaks after they occur, the center is also developing immediate, physical interventions to destroy foodborne threats before they reach the public. CFS researchers focus their efforts on the most common pathogens facing the modern food supply.
Globally, Campylobacter stands as the most commonly reported bacterial cause of foodborne illness, while Salmonella remains the leading cause of food-related hospitalizations and deaths. Both pathogens frequently contaminate staple commodities like poultry, fresh produce and eggs. Beyond agricultural fields, these bacteria are incredibly resilient, easily spreading to kitchen countertops, cutting boards and cooking utensils.
To combat this everyday threat, Francisco Diez, director of the UGA Center for Food Safety, is investigating methods to inactivate these common bacteria using antimicrobial blue light. This chemical-free, light-based sanitation technology offers food processors and home cooks a highly effective solution to sterilize surfaces, directly tackling the physical burden of contamination.
Expanding Areas of Research for Risks and Solutions
To maximize the real-world impact, the CFS continuously recruits interdisciplinary experts from across the university system. Lingling Liu, an assistant professor in the UGA College of Engineering, joined the center as a courtesy faculty member in 2025, bringing expertise in nanotechnology to food and agricultural systems.
Nanotechnology allows scientists to design smart food packaging that can actively detect early spoilage, or develop microscopic delivery vehicles that target and neutralize bacteria on produce without altering food quality.
V.M. “Bala” Balasubramaniam, who joined the university as the Koehler-Ayres Professor of Food Processing, is a globally recognized leader in sustainable food manufacturing systems. Balasubramaniam bridges the gap between microbiological discoveries and large-scale industrial implementation.
His research lab designs and validates advanced thermal and nonthermal food processing technologies—such as high-pressure processing and ultrashear technology, a high-pressure food processing method, to neutralize dangerous pathogens while retaining natural food quality and nutrients.
Ultimately, the CFS has strategically positioned itself to continue growing in areas that impact food risks far beyond the traditional lab bench. Looking ahead, the center aims to recruit specialized faculty who research emerging chemical risks as part of the next growth phase in its five-year strategic plan.
Bridging the Gap Between Academia, Industry and Government
Developing these interventions requires collaboration across multiple sectors. The research conducted at the CFS is fueled by a combination of private corporate support and government agencies.
The center’s outreach activities and projects are supported by corporate donations from the food industry, alongside competitive research grants from major federal entities. These include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Funding from these agencies directly drives highly practical marketplace applications. For example, supporting projects like “Modification of the native microbiome of leafy greens by commonly used sanitizers,” allows CFS scientists to conduct crucial, real-world research on the vegetables consumers eat every day and the sanitation methods processing plants rely on to keep them clean.
By aligning academic curiosity with industry resources and federal regulatory goals, UGA creates an integrated defense network capable of delivering safe food everywhere.
Every Spring, the CFS hosts its Annual Meeting, where academia, industry and the government sector all come together to discuss trending topics in food safety. Presentations are given on recent findings of recalls and outbreaks, food safety culture, potential risk and communication tactics for the public. The collaboration among these sectors every Spring offers an open opportunity for shared data for solutions to lessen global food safety risks.