Rate My Professor Achyut Adhikari

Achyut Adhikari serves as the Adrienne Gravois Brazan Professor and Associate Director in the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. He earned his Ph.D. in Food Science with an emphasis on Food Safety and Food Microbiology from Washington State University in 2012, M.Tech. in Food Technology from Tribhuvan University in 2004, and B.Tech. in Food Technology from Tribhuvan University in 1999. As an Extension Food Safety Specialist, he leads the Food Safety Research Group conducting basic and applied research on the microbiological safety of fresh produce, tree nuts, and specialty crops. His work examines the prevalence and persistence of foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica during pre- and post-harvest processing. Research efforts focus on on-farm risks from contaminated irrigation water and biological soil amendments of animal origin, sustainable best practices to mitigate microbial food safety risks in growing, harvesting, holding, and processing fresh produce, and post-harvest interventions such as UV-C light, hot water treatments, chlorine dioxide, and natural antimicrobials to reduce contamination.

Adhikari's publications include highly cited works such as "Ultraviolet-C light inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes on organic fruit surfaces" (International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2015), "Effect of ultraviolet light treatment on microbiological safety and quality of fresh produce: An overview" (Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022), "Inactivation of Escherichia coli Population on Fruit Surfaces Using Ultraviolet-C Light: Influence of Fruit Surface Characteristics" (Food and Bioprocess Technology, 2013), "Ultraviolet-C light inactivation of Penicillium expansum on fruit surfaces" (Food Control, 2015), and "Hot water treatment as a kill-step to inactivate Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecium on in-shell pecans" (LWT, 2018). He has received the Institute of Food Technologists Puget Sound Section Scholastic Achievement Award (2012), Sweden International Development Cooperation Agency fellowship (2006), and Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation fellowship (2005). Adhikari develops and delivers extension outreach programs on food safety regulations including FSMA compliance training for growers, processors, suppliers, vendors, regulatory personnel, and consumers in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. He serves on the LSU AgCenter Food Safety Task Force, was President-elect of the Institute of Food Technologists Gulf Coast Section (2015), and maintains membership in the International Association for Food Protection since 2009. Recently promoted to full professor, his contributions advance food safety practices in agriculture.