Thais Ramos

Based in Visalia, California

From the beginning of her professional career in the U.S., Thais has been working on science-based extension programs and developing applied research to address food safety from production to the end consumer. Her research has been primarily focused on identifying potential sources of fresh produce contamination by foodborne pathogens during production and processing, while implementing mitigation strategies to minimize the risk of produce contamination on conventional, and organic farming systems.

Before joining the Produce Safety Alliance in October 2022, Thais worked at University of California - Davis as a food safety specialist. While at UC Davis she provided food safety training and technical assistance targeting small-scale to mid-sized produce growers across the state of California. She also assisted in the developing of Extension resources (extension publications, food safety best guides, fact sheets, and online content) to support growers and small processors.

Selected Publications

• Thais M. Ramos, Michele Jay-Russell, Patricia Millner, James Stover, Jerome Baron, Paulo Pagliari, Mark Hutchinson, Jason Liley, Nicholas Rowley, Peiman Aminabadi, Annette Kenney, Fawzy Hashem, Alda F. A. Pires*. "Survival and Persistence of Foodborne Pathogens in Manure-Amended Soils and Prevalence on Fresh Produce in Certified Organic Farms: A Multi-regional Baseline Analysis". Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (Agro- Food Safety), Volume 5, October 2021.
• Pires, AFA; Kukiellka, E. A.; Haghani, V; Stover, J; Thais M. Ramos; Van Soelen Kim, J; and Jay- Russell, M. A Survey of Farmers “Market Managers in California: Food Safety Perspectives”. September 2020. Journal of Extension. Volume 58 (5), Article #v58-5a7, p. 1-13.
• Alda F. A. Pires, James Stover, Esther Kukielka, Viktoria Haghani, Peiman Aminabadi, Thais M. Ramos, Michele Jay-Russell. “Salmonella and Generic E. Coli Prevalence in Meat and Produce Sold at Farmers Markets in Northern California. June 2020. Journal of Food Protection, Volume 83 (11), p. 1934–1940. (This article has been selected by the Scientific Editor to be one of three featured articles during the month of November).
• Thais M. Ramos, Michelle Jay-Russell, Patricia D. Millner, Jessica Shade, Tracy, Ulrike S. Sorge, Mark Hutchinson, Jason Lilley, Alda F. A. Pires. Assessment of Biological Soil Amendments of Animal Origin Use, Research Needs, and Extension Opportunities in Organic Production. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (Agro-Food Safety), Volume 3, Article 73, 2019.