Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good

Headshot of Robert Buchanan
Headshot of Robert Buchanan

Robert Buchanan

Director and Professor, Center for Food Safety and Security Systems, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland 

Profile

Dr. Buchanan, Director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Food Safety and Security Systems, received his B.S, M.S. M.Phil, and Ph.D. degrees in Food Science from Rutgers University, and post-doctoral training in mycotoxicology at the University of Georgia. Since then he has 35+ years experience teaching, conducting research in food safety, and working at the interface between science and public health policy, first in academia, then in government service in both USDA and FDA, and most recently at the University of Maryland. His scientific interests are diverse, and include extensive experience in predictive microbiology, quantitative microbial risk assessment, microbial physiology, mycotoxicology, and HACCP systems. He has published widely on a wide range of subjects related to food safety, and is one of the co-developers of the widely used USDA Pathogen Modeling Program. Dr. Buchanan has served on numerous national and international advisory bodies including serving for 20 years as a member of the International Commission on Microbiological Specification for Foods, as a six-term member of the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria for Foods, and was the U.S. Delegate to the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Food Hygiene for a decade.

Description

Director and Professor, Center for Food Safety and Security Systems, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Maryland