Elizabeth A Bihn

Elizabeth A. Bihn is a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University, where she serves as Director of the Produce Safety Alliance and National Good Agricultural Practices Program. Her research focuses on reducing microbial risks in fresh produce through irrigation water quality studies and educational program development. She collaborates with growers, farm workers, and industry stakeholders to create effective food safety training materials.

Education includes:

• B.S. in Zoology from Ohio State University
• M.S. in Horticulture from University of Florida
• Ph.D. in Food Science from Cornell University

Her research examines irrigation water safety, pathogen persistence in agricultural systems, and implementation of Good Agricultural Practices. She develops risk assessment tools and training curricula focused on FSMA compliance, with particular attention to challenges faced by small farms and underrepresented growers. Recent work includes multi-regional studies on pathogen prevalence in organic farming systems and COVID-19 adaptation strategies for food safety.

Publications consistently address agricultural water safety, pathogen mitigation, regulatory compliance, and training effectiveness. Common themes include FSMA implementation challenges, regional risk factors for contamination, and scalable solutions for diverse farming operations.

Bihn leads extension initiatives through the Produce Safety Alliance and National GAPs Program, providing technical support to producers and developing multilingual training resources to broaden food safety education access.