Food safety culture will be the topic of a presentation by Kansas State University’s Doug Powell as part of the K-State Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology Seminar Series.

Powell, associate professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology and scientific director of the International Food Safety Network, will present "Pot pies, Pâté and Pregnancy: The Medium and the Messages to Create a Food Safety Culture" at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, in the Practice Management Center on the fourth floor of K-State’s Trotter hall. The seminar is free and open to the public.

Powell will provide an overview on the different mediums and messages his research team has experimented with to foster a food safety culture, from farm to fork.

"From pot pies, peanut butter, deli meats and pizza to peppers, tomatoes, spinach and more: food can make people sick — a lot of people," Powell said. "The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30 percent of all citizens in developed and other countries will get sick from the food they consume each year.

"But statistics are easy to ignore," he said. "In the past month, a 26-year-old died and 206 were sickened with E. coli 0111 after eating in Locust Grove, Okla. Nineteen people have died and dozens sickened with listeria after eating deli meats in Canada. In a separate outbreak, at least seven pregnant women in Quebec have acquired listeria from cheese, leading to premature births and illness in their babies."

Powell said the challenge is to provide reliable and relevant information in a compelling manner to reduce the burden of foodborne illness.