Marcos Sanchez

Expert scientific committee member for advisory to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service

Risk assessment and performance evaluation of integrated food safety management systems from farm-to-table in the produce, meat, poultry, egg, cellular agriculture and other food processing industries and evaluation of microbial profiles (bio-mapping and microbial baselines), statistical process control parameters, cross-contamination sourcing, whole genome sequencing for bacterial tracing, microbiome analysis and antimicrobial resistance profiling.

Evaluation of the quality and safety implications of new processing technologies (equipment, packaging methods) and antimicrobial interventions (chemical, physical, biological) in poultry, meat, eggs, produce and other food commodities, as well as optimization of the water and energy footprint impact of such processes.

Assessment of the effect of selective pressures (antimicrobial interventions, processing steps, production systems, antimicrobial utilization, and others) on the selection of particular pathogen strains, and persistence in food systems.

Service, Outreach and Training Activities:

Invited participation as member of the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/ World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Meetings on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA).

Technical assistance and capacity building initiatives for government agencies, private companies and trade associations in more than 20 countries in the Americas with implementation and enforcement of scientifically-based food safety regulatory frameworks, risk assessment, biosecurity and food safety management systems.

Development of capacity building programs for food-based agribusinesses and producers in the Americas and the Caribbean region in food security, value-addition and market access.

Technical assistance and capacity building initiatives for government agencies, private companies and trade associations in more than 20 countries in the Americas with implementation and enforcement of scientifically-based food safety regulatory frameworks, risk assessment, biosecurity and food safety management systems.

Development of capacity building programs for food-based agribusinesses and producers in the Americas and the Caribbean region in food security, value-addition and market access. Emphasis on the implementation, validation and monitoring of value-adding initiatives and food safety programs to maximize safety and quality of foods, improve food security efforts and facilitate export market access under regulatory compliance.