UA researcher Sadhana Ravishankar has been working for more than a decade to improve food safety using all-natural, plant-based sanitizers to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses like the recent one involving romaine lettuce grown in Yuma.

Through research and collaboration with farmers, Ravishankar, an associate professor in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Science, has shown that using essential oils, plant-based extracts and spice powders in a variety of foods can reduce or eliminate harmful bacteria, such as E. coli, salmonella, and listeria.