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Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences

Faculty - Catherine Donnelly

Catherine Donnelly, PhD, Professor

  • PhD, Food Science, North Carolina State University, 1983
  • MS, Food Science, North Caroline State University, 1980
  • BS, Animal Science, University of Vermont, 1978
  • Dr. Donnelly's C.V.

Professional Affiliations

  • Co-director, Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese
Area of expertise

Listeria monocytogenes


Contact Information

Email: Catherine.Donnelly@uvm.edu
Phone: 802-656-5495

Office Location: 254 MLS Carrigan Wing


Office Hours: by appointment

Introduction

Catherine Donnelly, an expert on the microbiological safety of food, believes that requiring cheesemakers to use pasteurized milk is not the best way to produce safe (and tasty) cheeses; it`s better to educate cheesemakers about how to ensure the safety of their raw-milk products.

Professional interests:

Catherine Donnelly is the co-director of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese (VIAC), a UVM-based institute that provides educational opportunities and scientific/commercial advice to small-scale cheesemakers. VIAC also works to promote greater public understanding of artisan cheeses. Prof. Donnelly is a recognized international expert on the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and has published numerous articles and delivered hundreds of presentations on the topic. Specific research interests center on development of detection methods for Listeria and understanding the impact of sublethal injury on Listeria recovery and detection. Prof. Donnelly and her research colleagues pioneered the development of methods to detect Listeria in foods, including development of UVM media. Current scholarly interests include investigation of the microbiological safety of raw milk cheeses aged for 60 days.

Courses

  • NFS 295: Food Safety & Public Policy

Recent Publications

  • D'Amico, D.J. and C.W. Donnelly. 2008. Enhanced detection of /Listeria/ spp. in farmstead cheese processing environments through dual primary enrichment, PCR and molecular subtyping. J. Food Prot. (accepted for publication; in press).

  • D'Amico, D.J., E. Groves and C.W. Donnelly. 2008. Low incidence of foodborne pathogens of concern in raw milk utilized for farmstead cheese production. J. Food Prot. 71:1580-1589.

  • D'Amico, D.J., M.J. Druart and C.W. Donnelly. 2008. The 60 day aging requirement does not ensure safety of bloomy rind cheeses manufactured from raw or pasteurized milk when /Listeria monocytogenes/ are introduced as post-processing contaminants. J. Food Prot. 71:1563-1571.

  • Nyachuba, D.G., C. W. Donnelly, and A.B. Howard. 2007. Impact of Nitrite on Detection of /Listeria monocytogenes/ in selected ready-to-eat meat and seafood products. J.Food Sci. 72:267-275.

  • Nyachuba, D.G. and C.W. Donnelly. 2007. Comparison of 3M" Petrifilm" Environmental Listeria Plates versus Standard Enrichment Methods for the Detection of Listeria monocytogenes of Epidemiological Significance from Environmental Surfaces. J. Food Sci 72:M346-354.

  • ILSI Research Foundation/Risk Science Institute, Expert Panel on /Listeria monocytogenes/ in foods. 2005. Achieving continuous improvement in reductions in foodborne listeriosis-a risk- based approach. J. Food Prot. 68: 1932-1994 (C.Donnelly served as Chair of the Hazard Characterization Working Group).

  • Cranwell, M.R., J.M. Kolodinsky, C.W. Donnelly, D.L. Downing and O.I. Padilla-Zakour. 2005. A model Food Entrepreneur Assistance and Education Program: The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship. J. Food Science Education 4:56-65.

  • Frye, C. and C.W. Donnelly. 2005. Comprehensive survey of pasteurized fluid milk produced in the U.S. reveals a low prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes. J. Food Prot. 68:973-979.

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