For Michael Doyle, becoming the director of the University’s Center for Food Safety was a labor of love.

Through his work in food safety, Doyle advises federal agencies such as the Center for Disease Control. Courtesy University of Georgia

“If I had my druthers I would probably be a dairy farmer in Wisconsin,” Doyle said. “But my wife didn’t think that was a good idea. So I had my choice between dairy farming and her, and I chose her.”

And that decision to go into food safety not only led to a better relationship with his wife but to the development of one of the leading microbiological food safety centers.

Through his interest in food safety, Doyle has contributed such public health innovations as the first test for finding E. coli 107 contamination and a food wash that kills harmful bacteria.

“We have a mission [at the Center] to find a better way to detect and control contamination of foods from harmful microorganisms,” he said. “I’m also asked to advise several federal agencies — the CDC [Centers for Disease Control], FDA [Food and Drug Administration] , and institutions like the National Academy of Sciences and the International Life Sciences Institute. My colleague, Dr. Tong Zhao and I, received an award from the University of Georgia for inventing a wash that would kill E. coli on produce, as well as poultry and meat. And it does it without harming the food.”

When not developing research and methods to improve public health, Doyle travels across the country participating in panels that debate and decide on food safety initiatives.

“Today I’m going to Washington DC,” he said. “I chair the Food Forum for the Institute of Medicine.”

“There’s a lot of reasearch that’s been done in certain areas of nutrition, and a lot of times researchers will hear about results that will conflict with other studies of nutrition. So this forum will be about how do you come with up evidence review that will come up with the best information, and how do you find the best studies to influence government policies and the like.”

Doyle also advises companies that are recovering from food contamination incidents.

“Frequently I am asked to help companies troubleshoot and help them solve problems,” Doyle said. “One company had a major outbreak with salmonella. It was a problem with ground turkey. They’re still working on upgrading practices in the plant and then they want us to come in to evaluate if there’s more that can be done or make recommendations.”

Advising these companies and helping them improve their health regulations has been something Doyle has been a part of for decades.

“The first E. coli problem happened in 1982,” he said. “It was associated with McDonald’s, and McDonald’s asked me to help make their company bulletproof so that it would never happen again.”

That collaboration led to developments that are now used by several other food industries, such as the “clam shell” grill used to cook McDonald’s burgers.
It’s these and other developments that Doyle has contributed to and continues to be a part of that makes the loss of his dairy farming dreams worthwhile.

“I think I’ve been able to make a lot of contributions to help both the industry and the government and improving the food supplies,” he said. “I think it was definitely the right decision.”