Barbara Kowalcyk, PhD, is CEO of the Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention, a national nonprofit organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dedicated to preventing foodborne disease, she cofounded the organization after her toddler died from an E. coli infection. Dr. Kowalcyk coauthored the 2010 National Academy of Sciences report Enhancing Safe Food: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration. She also is an assistant research professor in the department of food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences at North Carolina State University in Raleigh and an adjunct faculty member in the department of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. www.FoodborneIllness.org
Every summer I look forward to a favorite warm-weather treat—sweet, juicy cantaloupe. But now after I eat a slice, I…
