Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good

Photo of Karen Everstine
Photo of Karen Everstine

Karen Everstine

Research Associate with the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Minnesota

Profile

Karen is a Research Associate at the National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD), a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Minnesota. NCFPD is a research consortium that addresses the vulnerability of the food system to intentional contamination with biological or chemical agents. Dr. Everstine directs multiple federally-funded research projects focused on mitigating the risk of economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of foods, or “food fraud.” This research has received funding from the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Current research efforts are focused on assessing the scope of food fraud, developing methods for assessing the vulnerability of foods and ingredients to fraud, and developing algorithms to incorporate “non-traditional” data sources into food fraud risk models. Dr. Everstine sits on the United States Pharmacopeia Expert Panel on Food Ingredients Intentional Adulterants. Prior to her work NCFPD, Dr. Everstine was a foodborne disease epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health, where she conducted numerous foodborne disease outbreak investigations and contributed to CDC-funded studies aimed at describing food service practices and identifying contributing factors to outbreaks.

Description

Research Associate with the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Minnesota