1334 Eckles Ave
RM 225
St Paul, MN 55108
United States
BA, MS University of Minnesota
PhD University of Illinois
Areas of Interest
- food safety microbiology
- food defense against intentional contamination
- environmental stress on microorganisms
Biography
Professor Busta is the Director Emeritus of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense; NCFPD (now Food Protection & Defense Institute; FPDI) and Professor Emeritus of Food Microbiology at the University of Minnesota. Professor Busta was named as the first Director of NCFPD in 2004. Previously he held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota, North Carolina State University, and the University of Florida. He served as Chair of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition from 1984 to 1987 at the University of Florida and Head of the Department of Food Science & Nutrition, University of Minnesota from 1987 to 1997. CSIRO Food Research was the base for his sabbatical in 1974. Dr. Busta’s research areas are in food safety, growth and survival of microorganisms after environmental stress in food, microbial ecology, and food defense. He has published more than 125 refereed research papers. He has served as Chief Technology Advisor on a UNDP project in China on agri-processing within the WTO framework. Dr. Busta retired in 2002 from the International Commission on the Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF) after 15 years of service. Dr. Busta is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM), of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST in UK), of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP) and of the Academy of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IAFoST). He received the IAFP Honorary Life Membership Award in 2009 and gave the Silliker Lecture at IAFP15. He received the IFT Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and the Myron Solberg Award from IFT in 2017. He received the Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award in 2021. He chaired the Food Forum of the Institute of Medicine in the National Academies from 2011 to 2014. He was President of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in 1995/96 and served from 1998-2010 as Senior Science Advisor of IFT’s contract from FDA entitled: “Analysis and Review of Topics in Food Safety, Food Security, Food Processing, and Human Health.” He became Professor Emeritus in 1999. Professor Busta became Director Emeritus in 2007 and served as Senior Science Advisor to NCFPD from 2007 to 2014. He is a Certified Food Scientist (IFT), a Registered Scientist (IFST), and A Registered Specialist in Food, Dairy and Sanitation Microbiology (National Registry of Microbiologists, AAM). Professor Busta received his B.A. and M.S. from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.
Select Publications
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS 1990 to Date
Foegeding, P.M. and F.F. Busta. 1991. Chemical food preservatives. In Disinfection, sterilization, and preservation. Fourth Edition. S.S. Block (ed.). Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, PA, pp. 802-832.
Sofos, J.N. and F.F. Busta. 1992. Chemical food preservatives. In Disinfection, preservation, and sterilization. Second edition. A.D. Russell, W.G. Hugo and G.A.J. Ayliffe (eds.) Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, U.K. pp. 351-397.
Swanson, K.M.J., F.F. Busta, E.H. Peterson and M.G. Johnson. 1992. Colony count methods. Chapter 4. In Compendium of methods for the microbiological examination of foods. Third edition. C. Vanderzant and D.F. Splittstoesser (eds.). American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C. pp. 75-95.
Sofos, J.N. and F.F. Busta. 1993. Sorbates. In Antimicrobials in foods. Second edition. P.M. Davidson and A. L. Branen (ed.). Marcel Dekker, Inc., NY, pp. 49-94.
Busta, F.F. 1994. Importance of injured food-borne microorganisms in minimal processing. In Minimal processing of foods and process optimization. R. Paul Singh and F.A.R. Oliveira (eds.). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 227-231.
Busta, F.F. 1997. The philosophy of food chemical risk management. In Food Chemical Risk Analysis. D.R. Tennant (ed.). Blackie Academic & Professional, London, pp. 331-335.
Sofos, J.N. and F.F. Busta. 1999. Chemical food preservatives. In Disinfection, preservation, and sterilization. Third edition. A.D. Russell, W.G. Hugo and G.A.J. Ayliffe (eds.) Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, U.K. pp. 485-541.
Zook, C.D. and F.F. Busta. 1999. Microscopy – Direct total-cell microscopic counting. In The Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology. Academic Press, New York, pp. 2176-2180.
Williams, M.G. and F.F. Busta. 1999. Total Microbial Count – Regulatory Considerations. In The Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology. Academic Press, New York, pp.
Busta, F.F. 2000. Forward. In The Microbiological Quality & Safety of Food. B.B. Lund, A.C. Baird-Parker, and G.W.Gould (eds.). Chapman Hall, London.
Stopforth, J.D., J.N. Sofos, and F.F. Busta. 2005. Sorbic acid and sorbates. In Antimicrobials in foods. Third edition. P.M. Davidson, J. N. Sofos and A. L. Branen (ed.). Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 49-90.
Ostrowsky, J., S.P. Kennedy and F.F. Busta. 2006. Priorities for research in food defense. In Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health: Policies, Practice, and Global Coordination, Forum on Microbial Threats, Session VII, NAS Institute of Medicine, Report The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. pp. 247-254.
Kennedy, S.P. and F.F. Busta. 2007. Biosecurity: Food Protection and Defense. Chapter 5. In Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers, Third Edition. M.P. Doyle and L.R. Beuchat (ed.). ASM Press, Washington, D.C. Chapter 5, pp. 87-102.
Kinsey, J.D., T.F.Stinson, D.J.Degeneffe, K. Ghosh, and F.F.Busta. 2009. Consumers Response to a New Food Safety Issue: Food Terrorism. In Global Issues in Food Science and Technology. G.V.Barbosa-Canovas (ed.). Elsevier Press. pp. 145-161.
Stewart, Cynthia M. and F.F. Busta, 2010. Global Harmonization of the Control of Microbiological Risks. In Ensuring Global Food Safety, Christine E. Boisrobert, Aleksandra Stjepanovic, Sangsuk Oh and Huub L.M. Lelieveld (ed.). Oxford:Academic Press, London, pp. 177-191.
Busta, Francis (Frank) F. and Shaun P. Kennedy. 2011. Defending the safety of the global food system from intentional contamination in a changing market. Chapter 7. In Advances in Food Protection [Focus on Food Safety and Food Defense. (Security and Safety against Terrorist Threats and Natural Disasters) NATO/SPS Advanced Research Workshop Proceedings] NATO Science for Peace and Security Series A: Chemistry and Biology, M.Hefnawy (ed.) Springer Publishing, New York. pp.119-135.
Hennessey,M., F. Busta, E. Cunningham, and J. Spink. 2011. Food factory design to prevent deliberate product contamination. Chapter 9. In Hygienic design of food factories. John Holah & Huub L.M. Lelieveld (ed.) Woodhead Publishing Ltd., Cambridge, UK. pp. 170-183.
Kennedy, S.P. and F.F. Busta. 2013. Biosecurity: Food Protection and Defense. Chapter 5. In Food Microbiology: Fundamentals and Frontiers, Fourth Edition. M.P. Doyle and R.L.Buchanan(ed.). ASM Press, Washington, D.C., pp. 91-108.
Hennessey,M and F.Busta. 2014. Public Health Measures: Food Defense: Prevention of Sabotage and Bioterrorism. In Encyclopedia of Food Safety, Yasmine Motarjemi (ed.) Elsevier Inc., Amsterdam, Netherlands. Volume 4 Food Safety Management, pp. 68-70.
Mitenius, Ned, Shaun P. Kennedy, and Frank F. Busta. 2014. Food Defense: Defense against terrorism, sabotage, tampering, adulteration and counterfeiting of food. Chapter 35. In Practical Guide to Food Safety Management in Industrial Settings. Yasmine Motarjemi, Richard Stadler, & Huub Lelieveld (ed.) pp. 938-958.
Honors and Awards
Hill Foundation Grant for travel in Asia to visit food fermentation installations and laboratories, 1972.
Visiting Scientist honorarium from CSIRO, Division of Food Research, , Australia, sabbatical furlough 1974-75.
Research Leave at Meat Research Institute & Leatherhead Food Research Association (BFMIRA), England, 1977.
Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, 1979.
Educators Award from International Association of Milk, Food, and Environmental Sanitarians, 1981.
Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), 1982.
Scientific Lectureship Award from Philadelphia Section of IFT, 1987.
American Society of Agricultural Engineers Paper Award, 1989.
Outstanding Contributions to the College and Community Award from College of Human Ecology, 1993.
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1996.
William C. Frazier Memorial Lectureship in Food Microbiology, 1997.
Fellow of the International Academy of Food Science & Technology (Charter Fellow; IUFoST), 1998.
Fellow of the Institute of Food Science and Technology (UK), 1999.
Chair's Award for service from Minnesota Section of IFT, 2002.
Legacy Award from the College of Human Ecology, University of Minnesota, 2002
Distinguished Service Award from Food Microbiology Division of IFT, 2003
FDA-CFSAN Director’s Special Citation for Food Security Threat Assessments, 2003
Calvert L. Willey Distinguished Service Award from IFT, 2003
FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation for NCFPD Leadership, 2007
FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Special Citation as Food Defense Oversight Team for CARVER+Shock Software Assessment Tool, 2008
Honorary Life Membership Award from International Association for Food Protection, 2009
Lifetime Achievement Award from College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Sciences Alumni Society University of Minnesota, 2013
Fellow of the International Association for Food Protection, 2014
Silliker Lectureship at International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting, Portland, OR 2015
Myron Solberg Award from IFT, 2017
Food Safety Magazine Distinguished Service Award from FSM, 2021
Professional travel to over 50 countries