By Kelly Jedrzejewski
Two graduate students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences traveled abroad and gained experience in food safety research over the summer thanks to funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
Zilfa Irakoze, of Rwanda, conducted research on fungal contamination in food crops and sustainable biocontrol strategies during her trip to the Ivory Coast. At the same time, Auja Bywater, of State College, studied food safety in controlled-environment agriculture on the Galápagos Islands.
Both are dual title doctoral degree candidates in food science and in international agriculture and development (INTAD).
The trips were funded by the NSF Innovations in Graduate Education program, which supports innovative research to improve STEM graduate education and the effectiveness of interventions and policies.
“The program provided Zilfa with a unique opportunity that combined her graduate research with studying ancestral practices in the Ivory Coast,” said Josephine Wee, associate professor of food science, in whose food mycology lab Irakoze studies. “She looked at traditional aromatic plants used to prevent fungal contamination of stored grains.”
Wee added that Irakoze’s work supported an existing collaboration with Elisee Kporou, a former Fulbright Fellow who worked in Wee’s lab as a visiting scholar in 2023. Now a professor at Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé in Daloa, Ivory Coast, Kporou’s research helped inspire Irakoze’s project. He also supported her work by helping her get settled, connect with local farmers and plan aspects of the research process.
Irakoze said that one of her goals was to document and scientifically validate ancestral knowledge on the use of native plants to protect grains from mold contamination.
“One of the biggest risks, and missed opportunities for sustainable food safety, is losing all of this knowledge because it is not being documented,” she said.
Irakoze worked with farmers to assess their awareness of fungal and mold contamination and identify which plants they relied on for grain storage protection. She then documented the practices and plants used prior to laboratory testing. All tested native plants used by farmers exhibited some antifungal properties.
Source : psu.edu