Jay A. Unverferth

• Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis, 1968
• Microbiologist National Canners/Food Processors Association, 1969-1977
• Thermal and Aseptic Processing Specialist with the National Food Processors Association 1977-2005
• Concurrent appointment as a Staff Research Associate with The University of California Laboratory for Research in Food Preservation 1969-2005
• Recognized as a Process Authority by the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture
  

Specialties:

• Thermobacteriology of processed foods spoilage microorganisms, notably Clostridium botulinum in a variety of food and non-food environments.
• Cause of processed food spoilage diagnosis and remediation.
• Thermal and aseptic high-temperature-short-time food sterilization process design for shelf-stable food products.
• Evaluation of food process deviations and product lot disposition recommendations.
• Develops action plans to assist processors in segregating and sorting product lots that have received questionable thermal treatments.
• Develop and perform microbiological challenge assays to the sterilization of aseptic food processing and packaging equipment.
• Confirm mathematically derived process design by microbial spore challenge.
• Serves as a liaison between food processor clients and the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture in matters relating to process registration, support documentation, and regulatory compliance.

Research Activities:

• Determined effect of the relative humidity of the thermal processing environment on the kinetics of Clostridium botulinum and other spore inactivation.
• Researched the continuous-flow high-temperature-short-time processing of multi-phase food systems with bio-assay and modeling techniques.
• Investigated the apparent protective effects of cocoa powder against extreme thermal treatments to a normally minimally heat-resistant spore of Bacillus circulans, a vexing cause of significant economic losses in aseptically processed and package food products.

Other:

From 1985 to the present Jay as principally served as a major technical resource and consultant to the food processing industry in all matters relating to thermal process design, the operation of thermal and aseptic processing and packaging.