Scientific Staff
BIO
Pilar Truchado was awarded a bachelor and a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology at the University of Murcia. She further pursued her research activities as a postdoc at the VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland and the Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LABMET) at Ghent University in Belgium. She is a Ramón y Cajal Researcher at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in the Food Science & Technology Department at CEBAS-CSIC institute in Murcia, Spain. Throughout her scientific career, she has developed a multidisciplinary cutting-edge background, which includes the study of the role of microbiological risk factors, microbial metagenomics and metabolomics using a broad range of analytical techniques. This background allowed her to lead and collaborate in several national and international research projects and research contracts with companies in the area of quality and microbial safety of fresh produce. Her research activities have resulted in a scientific output of more than 50 publications in international peer-reviewed journals and the diffusion of the results in many international conferences and meetings. She is also a member of AcademiaNET and has participated in COST ACTION HuPlant.
RESEARCH INTEREST
Pilar Truchado has focused her research career in the area of Quality and Microbial Safety of fruits and vegetables. Her research topics deal with the evaluation of the impact of pre and postharvest practices on fresh produce safety, the study of dormancy stage of foodborne bacteria (VBNC) cells after application of intervention strategies such as disinfectants, the search of biomarkers (bacteria, bacteriophages and viruses) that can be used to correlate with the presence of fecal contamination as well as to elucidate the role of the microbial community in the food safety of fresh produce.
Representative Publications
Truchado, P., Gil, M.I., Allende, A. 2021.
Peroxyacetic acid and chlorine dioxide unlike chlorine induce viable but non-culturable (VBNC) stage of Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in wash water. Food Microbiol., 100, doi:org/10.1016/j.fm.2021.103866.
Truchado, P., Garre, A., Gil, M.I., Simón-Andreu, P.J., Sánchez, G, Allende, A. 2021.
Monitoring of human enteric virus and coliphages throughout water reuse system of wastewater treatment plants to irrigation endpoint of leafy greens. Sci. Total Environ., 782:146837, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146837.
Randazzo, W., Truchado, P., Cuevas-Ferrando, E., Simón, P., Allende, A., Sánchez, G. 2020.
SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater anticipated COVID-19 occurrence in a low prevalence area. Water Res., 181, 115942, doi:10.1016/j.watres. 115942.
Truchado, P., Gil, M.I., Larrosa, M., Allende, A. 2020.
Detection and quantification methods for viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells in process wash water of fresh-cut produce: Industrial validation. Frontiers in Microbiol., 11, 673, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2020.00673.
Truchado, P., Hernández N., Gil, M.I., Ivanek R., Allende, A. 2018.
Correlation between E. coli levels and the presence of foodborne pathogens in surface irrigation water: Establishment of a sampling program. Water Res., 128, 226-233, doi:226-233. 10.1016/j.watres.2017.10.041.
Truchado, P., Gil, M.I., Suslow, T., Allende, A. 2018.
Impact of chlorine dioxide disinfection of irrigation water on the epiphytic bacterial community of baby spinach and underlying soil. PLoS ONE, 13(7), e0199291, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0199291.
