When you buy chicken or turkey from the grocery store, you might not give it much thought, but there is an entire network of people working to ensure the health of the animals in our food supply chain and your health. In this episode, we talk with an unsung hero, Beverly Wood, supervisor of the molecular diagnostics lab at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who works tirelessly to ensure the health and safety of poultry and livestock animals in our food supply chain.

Our conversation delves into the types of samples and volume of testing that Beverly and her team do on a routine basis uncovers how their work changes as they move between surveillance and outbreak modes of operation, and gets into the molecular testing workflows they use. Given that her lab analyzes more than 30,000 samples a year, the discussion also touches on advancements in sample preparation and PCR that help enable this level of throughput, while delivering the rigor and reliability their lab requires.

Join us to learn about the unsung heroes, both people and molecular methods, that deliver food health and safety.

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