Joy Waite-Cusic

Associate Professor of Food Safety Systems , Statewide Specialist for Home Food Safety and Preservation Program

[email protected]

Expertise: Commercial Food Processing , Farm Food Safety , Home Food Preservation

Department/Unit: Food Science and Technology

Content by Joy Waite-Cusic

OSU study finds that using cold water to make 'sprouted' foods lowers the risk of salmonella growth

An Oregon State University study published in 2021 found that soaking raw ingredients – usually grains, nuts or seeds – to make "sprouted" foods lowers the risk of salmonella growth on these increasingly popular healthy snack foods.

Joy Waite-Cusic | Nov 2021 | Impact story

Can I soak pickles to reduce salt?

Q: I want to soak salt out of my pickles because of blood pressure problems. Will I lose the beneficial microbes that way?

A: View answer | View all featured questions

Are home-preserved gifts safe to eat?

Q: I received a home preserved gift for the holidays. How do I know it's safe to eat?

A: View answer | View all featured questions

How long will dried fruit last?

Q: How long will dehydrated apples, or any fruit, last once vacuum sealed in the pantry?

A: View answer | View all featured questions

Add-on Exercise on Water Infiltration for PSA Module 5.2 Ag Water (V1.2)

The intent of the exercise is for PSA grower course trainees to witness the impact of water infiltration in produce, consider produce safety implications related to post-harvest water quality and think about the importance of managing postharvest water quality.

Jovana Kovacevic, Joy Waite-Cusic, Rebecca Bland | May 2020 | Presentation

Add-on Exercise for Produce Safety Alliance Module 6 v1.2– Post-harvest Handling and Sanitation

The intent of this add-on exercise is for PSA grower course trainees to think through various harvest and post-harvest scenarios and consider implications related to produce safety in the context of real production environments. Each group of trainees (4-6 per group) is given a set of the printed photos to work through. They are asked specific questions, and given 15-20 minutes to work in their groups.  Following group discussions, trainers go through the slide deck and ask participants to share what they discussed in their groups about each scenario.

Jovana Kovacevic, Joy Waite-Cusic | Nov 2019 | Presentation

I had a jam apocalypse, what happened?

Q: I made uncooked freezer jam from blackberries in my yard. I put the prepared jam in jars, placed lids but not too tight with 1/2 headspace. After letting them sit on the counter for 24 hrs ( for the pectin to set) ...

A: View answer | View all featured questions

Should I worry about the cyanide in lima beans?

Q: I've purchased yellow "butter beans" immature in the pods from a local farm stand. They are very good. But I just learned that lima beans have (or convert into) cyanide and so mature beans require long cooking to remove ...

A: View answer | View all featured questions

On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs)

On-Farm Readiness Review (OFRR) is designed as a tool to help regulators and educators effectively prepare farmers for compliance with Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)'s produce safety rule.

Jovana Kovacevic, Sara Runkel, Joy Waite-Cusic | May 2018 | Article

Idle, uncleaned milk trucks don't compromise the quality of raw milk, OSU study shows

Raw milk quality isn’t compromised when tanker trucks sit empty and uncleaned for hours between loads, according to new research at Oregon State University.

Chris Branam | Mar 1, 2018 | News story

A cold soak lowers the risk of salmonella growth on ‘sprouted’ foods

If the soaking phase happens at ambient temperature, there is a significant food safety problem, study finds.

Chris Branam | May 3, 2021 | News story

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