Innovative Food Packaging and Processing Technologies: Present and Future

Author Biography

Daniela Bermudez-Aguirre has a background in Food Engineering (BSc), Food Science (MSc), and Engineering Science, with a focus on Food Engineering (PhD). She currently works as a Research Food Technologist at USDA Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, PA where she uses innovative interventions to control foodborne pathogens in different food products. During her graduate and post-doctorate work at Washington State University (WSU), she was involved in the development of nonthermal technologies for food processing and preservation, such as high hydrostatic pressure, pulsed electric fields, ultrasound, ultraviolet, cold plasma, and ozone. Her research at WSU also included projects funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) to improve the quality of military rations without compromising the food safety using innovative thermal processing. Afterwards, she worked as a senior research scientist for Lockheed Martin, a contractor of NASA. At NASA Johnson Space Center, she was the principal investigator of a project that used cold plasma to disinfect vegetables grown and consumed in-orbit by astronauts. In the last few years, she has been a consultant to industry and research centers about the use and applications of cold plasma equipment. She is the author of more than 60 peer-review publications, editor of 3 books in Food Engineering, and reviewer of over 50 high-impact journals in food science and technology. She has more than 20 years of experience working on nonthermal technologies for food safety and product development.