A Culture You Can Trust: Meet the Experts – David Crabtree

Senior R&D Manager, Food Safety

My role is diverse, challenging, but above all fun. I really enjoy being connected with the food safety industry and have been fascinated by the field for the past 17 years. I manage an incredibly talented team of scientists including bioinformaticians, molecular biologists, and microbiologists who develop PCR assays and associated workflows for detection and quantification of diverse microorganisms from food samples. If you’ve heard of the SureTect brand of PCR assays, that’s us!

Working with our colleagues in business development, my role is to provide input to strategic planning to ensure our product portfolio continuously meets or exceeds our customers’ needs. Through step-change innovation or incremental expansion of our products’ claims and capabilities, each project is clearly defined by fantastic collaboration with the industry; another aspect of the role that I always look forward to.

One of the key areas of the job that I get enormous satisfaction from is seeing the incredible work that our team does and being constantly amazed by what we can achieve. As a leader, it is crucial for me to acknowledge the continual need for development of skills and knowledge within a team of scientific professionals and ensure that we have plans and procedures in place which foster collaborative and innovative success.

A typical day for me includes connecting with my team. This ensures that everyone is aligned and aware of objectives and critical updates. We discuss ongoing projects, address any challenges, and set priorities to ensure smooth delivery of diverse tasks. 

Project timelines and resources are reviewed, risk identified and mitigated, checking progress against other planned milestones, and making any necessary adjustments to keep everything on track. 

Health and safety in the lab is paramount in our field, so time is dedicated to ensuring that all appropriate protocols are being followed. I review risk assessments, conduct audits, and address any potential challenges. This proactive approach helps us maintain a safe working environment for everyone involved. 

To stay informed and ahead of industry trends, I dedicate time each day to knowledge building; reading scientific articles and/or articles about food safety product enhancements. This continuous learning helps me bring customer-centric innovative ideas and improvements to our projects, ensuring we remain competitive and at the forefront of our field. 

Lastly, I aim to regularly connect with customers. Whether it's through meetings, calls, or emails, engaging with our customers allows me to understand their needs better, gather feedback, and build strong relationships. This customer-centric approach is vital for delivering products and services that truly meet their expectations. 

It all starts with something simple! For me, this was a XLD plate! The concept of bacterial colonies turning different colours on a culture medium that had been designed to differentiate various microorganisms was new and exciting to graduate-me. This quickly moved from the workplace to my spare time as I began to read and digest as much knowledge about culture media in food safety as possible, before following the manufacturing address on my pots of Oxoid media to the next step in my microbiology career.

Our strategy is fundamentally centred around enabling our customers to succeed. This involves a deep understanding of their needs and challenges they face and then developing tailored solutions that drive their success. For example, changing regulatory landscapes or changing manufacturing techniques that alter pathogen survivability or persistence in food intermediates or alternative finished products. 

Another critical aspect of our work in Food Safety is disease prevention. This involves rigorous research and development to create Food Safety products that effectively prevent the spread of diseases by catching contaminated food before it reaches consumers. If the annual economic burden of foodborne illness in the USA alone is >$50B, we should be doing everything we can to minimize this globally! 

Currently, we are working on expanding our solutions for the beverages industry, building on the successful launch of the SureTect Brettanomyces spp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Multiplex PCR Assay. This multiplex PCR kit has been instrumental in detecting these specific spoilage organisms, which are known to affect the quality and taste of beverages. Our goal is to develop additional kits that can identify a broader range of spoilage organisms, ensuring that beverage manufacturers can maintain the highest standards of quality and safety in their products. This involves extensive collaboration with industry experts to understand the unique challenges faced by beverage producers and to develop effective solutions that address these issues.

One of the key techniques we are employing in these projects is the enumeration of spoilage organisms from beverages using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) techniques. PCR is a powerful tool that allows us to accurately and rapidly detect and quantify the presence of spoilage organisms in various samples. By leveraging this technology, we can provide beverage manufacturers with precise data on the microbial content of their products, enabling them to take proactive measures to prevent spoilage and ensure product quality. 

One of the recent advancements in microbiology that I am most excited about is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive modelling into food manufacturing environments. These technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way we approach microbial analysis and risk assessment during food production. AI can analyse vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, identifying patterns and trends that might be missed by traditional methods. 

Predictive modelling, on the other hand, allows us to forecast potential microbial issues before they become significant problems. By combining these technologies, we can enable food producers to obtain more precise and actionable insights, helping them to make informed decisions and improve their overall microbial management strategies.

One of the key trends shaping the future of microbiology is the increased use of genomic technologies. These technologies allow us to delve deeper into the genetic makeup of microorganisms, providing insights that were previously unattainable such as trends in antimicrobial resistance and early identification of emerging pathogens. By understanding the genetic sequences and variations of microbes, we can develop more targeted and effective treatments, enhance our ability to track and trace microbial outbreaks, and improve our overall understanding of microbial behaviour and evolution. 

Advancements in rapid detection methods are another crucial trend in microbiology. Traditional microbial detection methods can be time-consuming and labour-intensive, but recent innovations have led to the development of faster and more efficient techniques. The future is faster, faster, faster results!

I'm excited to begin a new adventure and a new chapter following the acquisition of the Thermo Fisher Scientific Microbiology division by Astorg. Change brings new opportunities - to learn, grow, collaborate, and contribute in different ways. I'm looking forward to what lies ahead, working alongside talented colleagues and continuing to support our customers while embracing the opportunities this new chapter will bring.