Alejandro Amézquita

Alejandro Amézquita

Contact Information:

Unilever Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre Colworth Science Park Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire MK44 1LQ United Kingdom
alejandro.amezquita@unilever.com

Food Safety Engineering

Academic Degrees

  • B.S. Food Engineering, Corporación Universitaria Lasallista (Colombia)
  • M.S. Food Science & Technology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
  • Ph.D. Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraksa - Lincoln

Certifications

  • Ph.D., CFS

Dr. Alejandro Amézquita is the Science Leader in Microbiological Risk Assessment at Unilever’s Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre in England. Alejandro works in the Microbiological Safety team that has responsibility for developing and delivering risk assessments for assurance of consumer safety of Unilever’s R&D portfolio across all product categories (Personal Care, Home Care, Foods, and Refreshment). Alejandro’s main responsibilities focus on the development and application of new scientific capability relevant for quantitative microbiological risk assessment and predictive microbiology. An important part of his work is at the science and regulatory interface, with considerable influence and impact on key internal food safety projects, with regulatory authorities globally in terms of the implementation of risk-based approaches, and with external scientific organisations. In addition to his role at Unilever, Alejandro holds adjunct faculty appointments at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and North Carolina State University, and actively contributes to professional societies, and as a reviewer for key journals, in his areas of expertise. He is the past chair of the Microbial Modelling and Risk Analysis Professional Development Group of IAFP, a member of the Scientific Committee of Food Micro 2016, and a member of the ILSI Europe Task Force on Risk Analysis in Food Microbiology. Alejandro is also courtesy faculty at the School of Food Science & Nutrition of the University of Leeds where he lectures on food safety management systems and predictive microbiology. Alejandro is an author on more than 25 peer-reviewed papers and 7 book chapters, as well as having given numerous presentations at international conferences.

Curriculum Vitae (CV):

Alejandro Amezquita short CV 4UNL website Oct 2015 [329906].pdf

Selected Publications

  1. Cowley, N., S. Forbes, A. Amézquita, P. McClure, G. Humphreys, and A. McBain. 2015. Effects of formulation on microbicide potency and mitigation of the development of bacterial insusceptibility. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 81(20): 7330-7338. PMID: 26253662.
  2. Finn, S., L. Rogers, K. Händler, P. McClure, A. Amézquita, J.C.D. Hinton, and S. Fanning. 2015. Exposure of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to three humectants used in the food industry induces different osmoadaptation systems. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 81(19): 6800-6811. PMID: 26209672.
  3. Pitt, T.L., J. McClure, M.D. Parker, A. Amézquita, and P.J. McClure. 2015. Bacillus cereus in personal care products: risk to consumers. International Journal of Cosmetic Science. 37(2): 165-174. PubMed PMID: 25482451.
  4. Knapp, L., A. Amézquita, P. McClure, S. Stewart, and J.-Y. Maillard. 2015. Development of a protocol for predicting bacterial resistance to microbicides. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 81(8): 2652-2659. PubMed PMID: 25636848.
  5. Ashbolt , N.J., A. Amézquita, T. Backhaus, S.P. Borriello, K.K. Brandt, P. Collignon, A. Coors, R. Finley, W.H. Gaze, T. Heberer, J. Lawrence, D.G.J. Larsson, S.A. McEwen, J.J. Ryan, J. Schönfeld, P. Silley, J. Snape, C. van den Eede, and E. Topp. 2013. Human health risk assessment (HHRA) for environmental development and transfer of antibiotic resistance. Environmental Health Perspectives. 121(9): 993-1001. PubMed PMID: 23838256.
  6. Finn, S., J.C.D. Hinton, P. McClure, A. Amézquita, M. Martins, and S. Fanning. 2013. Phenotypic characterisation of Salmonella isolated from food production environments associated with low-aw foods. Journal of Food Protection. 76(9): 1488-1499. PubMed PMID: 23992493.
  7. Pruden, A., D.G.J. Larsson, A. Amézquita, P. Collignon, K.K. Brandt, D.W. Graham, J. Lazorchak, S. Suzuki, P. Silley, J. Snape, E. Topp, T. Tong Zhang, and Y.-G. Zhu. 2013. Management options for reducing the release of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes to the environment. Environmental Health Perspectives 121(8): 878-885. PubMed PMID: 23735422
  8. Membré, J.-M., A. Amézquita, J. Bassett, P. Giavedoni, C. de W. Blackburn, and L.G.M. Gorris. 2006. A probabilistic modeling approach in thermal inactivation: estimation of post-process Bacillus cereus spore prevalence and concentration. Journal of Food Protection 69(1): 118-129. PubMed PMID: 16416909.
  9. Amézquita, A., C.L. Weller, L. Wang, H. Thippareddi, and D.E. Burson. 2005. Development of an integrated model for heat transfer and dynamic growth of Clostridium perfringens during the cooling of cooked boneless ham. International Journal of Food Microbiology 101(2): 123-144. PubMed PMID: 15862875.
  10. Amézquita, A., L. Wang, and C.L. Weller. 2005. Finite element modeling and experimental validation of cooling rates of large ready-to-eat meat products in small meat-processing facilities. Transactions of the ASABE 48(1): 287-303.