Keith Belk, PhD
Dr. Keith Belk is the Director of Eurofins’ Advanced Learning Institute and Professor and Holder of the Monfort Endowed Chair, Center for Meat Safety & Quality, Colorado State University (CSU), and as an Adjunct Professor in the Colorado School of Public Health. Previously, he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Animal Sciences at CSU. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from CSU, and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. He currently serves in a consulting role as the Director of Education for Eurofins Rapid Microbiology Laboratories, LLC. Dr. Belk is also a member of the International Committee for the National Western Stock Show, the Board of Directors for the International Stockmen’s Educational Foundation, on the Academic Advisory Committee for the Meat Institute Protein PACT, and on the technical advisory committees for Sustainable Beef, JBS, Colorado Premium Foods, and Hawkins.
Below are resources from Dr. Keith Belk:
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are a wide group of natural toxins that present a potential risk to consumers. Find out more if your dietary supplements or herbal supplements are at risk and how to test and verify your product's safety for consumers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) in 2022. This regulation mandates clear labeling for retail food products containing bioengineered (BE) or 'GMO' ingredients, giving consumers more insight into what they are eating. In this guide, we will explore what qualifies as a bioengineered food, which products are subject to labeling, and how businesses can comply with the regulations outlined in NBFDS.
Developing a product requires careful consideration of storage, transport, and retail conditions. Spoilage organism testing helps determine the risk of bacterial spoilage under different conditions. Additionally, spoilage testing can be added to routine microbiology testing to ensure continued product quality and safety.
Indicator organisms are groups of microbes that are correlated with other groups. In other words, the presence of one indicates the presence of another. So, indicator testing detects a small group of pathogens instead of running over 30 tests to look for all potential harmful groups. This reduces testing times and costs.
Which food labeling rule applies to your food product? Learn more about USDA and FDA Food Labeling guidelines, coverage, and differences.
PFAS have valuable uses and extreme chemical stability, but can lead to adverse health outcomes. Learn why PFAS testing in foods is now becoming an essential need for your food and supplement products in the market.
Validated methods are essential to reliable botanical testing. Method validation and development ensures analytical approaches are applicable to specific ingredients and provide accurate results. The process of method development and validation are outlined.
Botanical reference materials play a critical role in herbal product testing. Learn about the importance of botanical reference materials, and how choosing a lab with a large reference material library impacts analytical outputs.
In 2016, the FDA updated the Daily Value (DV) and Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for several nutrients, including Vitamin E. The RDIs are published by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) of α-Tocopherol, as it is the only form of Vitamin E maintained in the blood and has biological activity. Thus, Vitamin E per NLEA regulations (or mg label claim) is defined as milligrams α-Tocopherol. Review this fact sheet for more information about reporting Vitamin E per the regulations.
Manufacturing microwave food or Ready-to-Heat (RTH) products have compelling benefits and challenges. Learn more about the chemistry of how microwave technology works, applications in the food industry, and how testing is an important piece when manufacturing or selling these products.
