IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group – The Institute for Environmental Health

IEH Welcomes Joseph Obregon

Carlos Castillo — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:35:25 +0000

IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group is pleased to welcome Joseph Obregon as a Director of Technical Services.

Bringing more than 19 years of experience in food and beverage manufacturing, sanitation, food safety, aseptic processing, and technical consulting, Mr. Obregon has held leadership and technical roles supporting dairy, beverage, and aseptic manufacturing operations. His expertise includes CIP systems, UHT and HTST processing, process validation, equipment commissioning, and sanitation program development.

Throughout his career, Mr. Obregon has worked closely with manufacturing facilities and equipment partners across the U.S. and internationally to troubleshoot complex processing and sanitation challenges, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen food safety programs.

Mr. Obregon has also contributed to industry training and education through the development and delivery of aseptic processing and sanitation training. He currently serves as a committee member with the Institute for Thermal Processing Specialists.

His extensive experience in aseptic processing, sanitation, food safety, and process validation will further strengthen IEH’s technical expertise in supporting clients across the food and beverage industry.

IEH Expands Analytical Capabilities with Juice Testing Services

Carlos Castillo — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 01:17:00 +0000

IEH Analytical Labs provides comprehensive analytical and technical services to support juice quality, authenticity, food safety, and regulatory compliance.

Analytical capabilities include physicochemical quality testing, microbiological testing, nutritional and compositional analysis, authenticity and adulteration testing, contaminant and residue testing, sensory and shelf-life studies, and Process Authority services.

From routine quality control and finished-product testing to detecting added water or sugar syrups, investigating contaminants, and validating processes, IEH supports juice producers, processors, importers, retailers, and brand owners across the supply chain.

For questions about juice testing or to discuss testing needs, please visit: https://www.juicetestinglaboratories.com/

IEH Acquires Tekran Instruments Corporation

Carlos Castillo — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:38:35 +0000

IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group is pleased to welcome Tekran Instruments Corporation to our growing network of companies.

Tekran is a leading manufacturer of ultra-trace mercury analysis systems used in environmental, industrial, and research applications. Founded in 1989, the Toronto-based company designs and manufactures mercury monitoring instrumentation based on cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CVAFS). These instruments support laboratory analysis, ambient air monitoring, point-source emissions testing, natural gas applications, and worker exposure monitoring, with detection limits at ultra-trace levels.

Tekran’s technology is widely recognized by industry, government, and research institutions for applications requiring high sensitivity, stability, and reliable mercury measurement.

To learn more about Tekran and its capabilities, please visit: https://www.tekran.com

IEH Welcomes Doug Craven

Carlos Castillo — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 23:43:32 +0000

IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group proudly welcomes Doug Craven as Vice President of Technical Services.

Mr. Craven brings 40 years of experience in production management, sanitation, food safety, and co-manufacturing. During his career with Hormel Foods, he held leadership roles including Corporate Manager of Sanitation, where he led food sanitation and safety auditing programs, and Assistant Director of Co-Manufacturing, where he managed quality and food safety across co-manufacturing partnerships.

Mr. Craven holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He has also served on numerous industry boards and task forces, including the North American Meat Institute’s Listeria Workshop and the Equipment Design Task Force.

Mr. Craven’s extensive experience in sanitation, food safety, and co-manufacturing further strengthens IEH’s technical expertise in supporting clients across the food industry.

IEH Welcomes Mark Carter

Carlos Castillo — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:06:45 +0000

IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group proudly welcomes Mark Carter as Vice President of Technical Services.

With nearly four decades of experience in food safety, applied microbiology, laboratory operations, and life science business leadership, Mr. Carter brings exceptional scientific and executive expertise to our team. Prior to joining IEH, he served as Senior Global Software Product Manager at Hygiena, leading worldwide software product strategy for food safety data and diagnostics. Throughout his career, he has also held executive leadership positions at Matrix Sciences, QC Laboratories, Silliker Group Corporation (now Mérieux NutriSciences), and founded MC Squared (MC²), a consulting firm supporting food manufacturers, diagnostic developers, and emerging technology companies.

Mr. Carter has made significant contributions to the food safety community as a past President of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), a Lead Instructor for the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance (FSPCA), and a member of the AOAC Expert Review Panel for Food and Environmental Methods.

Leveraging his extensive experience, he will provide strategic guidance to IEH’s consulting services, helping clients strengthen science-based food safety programs and meet the highest standards of food safety and regulatory compliance.

IEH Study and Published in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL: Multiplex PCR Assays for Detection of Salmonella ssp. and Cronobacter sakazakii

Carlos Castillo — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:11:00 +0000

Published in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL, the study evaluated IEH Multiplex PCR Assays for the detection of Salmonella spp. and Cronobacter sakazakii on stainless steel and sealed concrete surfaces compared with FDA-BAM reference methods.

The findings featured comparable performance with a significantly shorter turnaround time, demonstrating the potential of multiplex PCR methods to support faster pathogen detection in environmental samples.

Read the full study:https://academic.oup.com/jaoac/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jaoacint/qsag062/8732423?redirectedFrom=fulltext

IEH Study Published in Frontiers in Microbiology: Detection and Characterization of Clostridium botulinum in Powdered Infant Formula

Carlos Castillo — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:19:39 +0000

We are pleased to announce the publication of our study “Detection and characterization of Clostridium botulinum isolated from powdered infant formula” in Frontiers in Microbiology.

As part of an investigation into a multistate outbreak of infant botulism, IEH laboratories detected and isolated the microorganism from various samples including un-opened powdered infant formula cans. A tiered analytical approach was used combining pre-enrichment and highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction application which allowed for extremely low levels of C. botulinum in the samples to be recovered, isolated and characterized using whole genome sequencing. The findings of this study serve to improve current control measures for C. botulinum in the infant formula industry.

Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie Receives 2026 R.C. Pollock Award

Carlos Castillo — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 13:57:00 +0000

IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group congratulates Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie on being selected as the recipient of the 2026 R.C. Pollock Award by the American Meat Science Association (AMSA).

Presented in recognition of outstanding contributions to teaching, extension, research, and service, the award honors individuals whose work has made a lasting impact on the meat industry. Dr. Koohmaraie was recognized for his contributions to meat quality, food safety, and industry education.

Wastewater Residuals as Ecological Amplifiers of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Carlos Castillo — Thu, 14 May 2026 06:11:00 +0000

Summary: A greenhouse mesocosm study found that wastewater residuals can promote the persistence and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) through soil, water, plants, and earthworms, highlighting wastewater reuse in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance in the environment.

Source links: Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry

Water

Why This Matters:

Wastewater treatment plants are increasingly recognized as environmental reservoirs and dissemination hubs for antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements.
Land application of biosolids and reclaimed wastewater irrigation are expanding globally as sustainable waste-management and water-conservation strategies.
Unlike conventional chemical pollutants, ARGs are biologically dynamic entities capable of replication, persistence, and horizontal transfer between microbial communities.
Environmental dissemination of ARGs through soil ecosystems and food webs may contribute to a broader burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) affecting human, animal, and environmental health.

Key Findings:

Sidhu and Slater used a 60-day greenhouse mesocosm model to evaluate the dissemination of multiple antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) as well as the class 1 integron-integrase marker (intI1), a key mediator of resistance gene capture and horizontal transfer, following soil treatment with biosolids (sewage sludge) or effluent-treated wastewater. Assessments were performed across wastewater residuals, soil, crops (pea, radish, and lettuce), earthworms, and leachate before and after soil treatment.¹

Matrix-specific dissemination patterns: Biosolids carried the highest absolute loads of antibiotics and ARGs, whereas effluent contained lower concentrations but exhibited greater dispersal potential. Soil served primarily as a “receiver matrix.”
ARG-specific dissemination patterns: Distinct ARGs behaved differently depending on the wastewater residual matrix.
- qnrS (quinolone/fluoroquinolone resistance) preferentially leached from effluent-treated systems.
- sul1 and sul2 (sulfonamide resistance genes) demonstrated greater dissemination from biosolid-amended soils, highlighting gene-specific environmental behavior.
Earthworms as ARG bioaccumulators: Earthworms accumulated substantially higher ARG burdens than soil, leachate, or plant materials, reaching concentrations of approximately 10⁷–10⁸ gene copies per gram dry weight, suggesting that earthworms may function as ecological reservoirs and vectors for ARG transfer.
Evidence of environmental mobility: ARGs were detected not only in soil samples but also in leachate and biological compartments, supporting the concept that wastewater facilitates environmental dissemination through interconnected pathways.
Limited but detectable plant uptake: Plants generally demonstrated low ARG bioaccumulation; however, ARGs were detected within edible pea pods, indicating potential pathways for entry into agricultural food systems.

Bigger Picture:

The study showed that the different resistance genes and the integron marker behaved differently depending on whether the contamination source was treated wastewater effluent or biosolids. This demonstrated that ARG dissemination is gene-specific and matrix-dependent rather than uniform. Broadly speaking, this study highlights that AMR is not solely a clinical issue but also an environmental one. Wastewater residuals can act as ecological reservoirs that promote persistence, amplification, and horizontal spread of ARGs through soil ecosystems and food webs. The findings challenge traditional wastewater risk assessments focused soley on chemicals or pathogens and support the need for environmental ARG surveillance and One Health-based AMR mitigation strategies.

References:

Sidhu and Slater. 2026. Beyond the Chemical Load: Wastewater Residuals as Drivers of Antibiotic Resistance Proliferation and Dissemination into Soil, Water, and Food Webs. Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry.

Engineering the Gut Microbiome

Carlos Castillo — Wed, 13 May 2026 17:45:52 +0000

Summary: This 2026 review explores the ways in which synthetic biology is reshaping gut microbiome research, enabling the rational design of engineered commensal bacteria, synthetic gene circuits, and microbial consortia for therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

Source links: Gut Microbiology

Microbiome

Why This Matters:

The gut microbiome is increasingly viewed as a targetable and engineerable biological system rather than a static microbial community.
Synthetic biology enables genetic modification of commensal bacteria to introduce defined sensing, regulatory, and effector functions.
Engineered microbes offer potential for localized delivery of biologics and metabolite modulation within the gastrointestinal tract, reducing reliance on systemic therapies.
This represents a shift from empiric probiotic use toward rationally designed live biotherapeutic platforms, although still largely preclinical.

Key Findings:

This review by Sutanto and Fetarayani summarizes current synthetic approaches for engineering the gut microbiome, focusing on genetic tool development, engineered microbial systems, and translational constraints in commensal-based platforms.¹

Synthetic biology tools for microbiome engineering: shift from native microbial traits to genetic manipulation of commensal organisms via:
- Emerging CRISPR–Cas genome editing systems for use in E. coli Nissle and Bacteroides spp.
- Modular plasmid systems with engineered expression cassettes, biosensors, secretion tags, and CRISPR-compatible scaffolds (including tracrRNA-based designs) to improve editing efficiency and plasmid stability.
Engineered commensals as living therapeutics: Gut bacteria can be genetically modified to sense disease-related signals and produce therapeutic molecules in response, functioning as programmable and controllable drug delivery systems within the host.
Synthetic gene elements that enable complex biological responses: Engineered microbes that can detect specific environmental or host-derived cues, process signals, and execute defined biological responses such as metabolite production or gene activation.
Microbial consortia engineering: Synthetic microbial communities can be designed with division of labor, metabolic complementarity, and ecological stability in mind to improve functional robustness.
Ecological modeling for stability and persistence: Successful microbiome engineering requires predictive ecological models to ensure engineered strains remain stable, competitive, and functional within complex gut environments.
Translational and clinical applications: Potential applications include targeted treatment of metabolic disease, gastrointestinal disorders, immune dysregulation, and systemic inflammatory conditions.
Key translational barriers: Major challenges include biosafety risks, ecological unpredictability, regulatory uncertainty, and long-term genetic stability of engineered traits in vivo.

Bigger Picture:

The gut microbiome is increasingly viewed as a programmable system in which engineered microbes can be deployed as dynamic therapeutic agents capable of sensing, responding, and adapting to the host environment. However, we are not quite there yet. The transition from concept to clinical reality remains constrained by fundamental challenges in microbial ecology, safety containment, and regulatory frameworks. Ensuring stability of engineered organisms in the highly competitive and variable gut ecosystem is a central unresolved problem.

References:

Sutanto and Fetarayani. 2026. Engineering the Gut Microbiome: Synthetic Biology Approaches for Human Health and Disease. Gut Microbiology.

IEH Laboratories & Consulting Group – The Institute for Environmental Health

IEH Welcomes Joseph Obregon

IEH Expands Analytical Capabilities with Juice Testing Services

IEH Acquires Tekran Instruments Corporation

IEH Welcomes Doug Craven

IEH Welcomes Mark Carter

IEH Study and Published in the Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL: Multiplex PCR Assays for Detection of Salmonella ssp. and Cronobacter sakazakii

IEH Study Published in Frontiers in Microbiology: Detection and Characterization of Clostridium botulinum in Powdered Infant Formula

Dr. Mohammad Koohmaraie Receives 2026 R.C. Pollock Award

Wastewater Residuals as Ecological Amplifiers of Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Can Wastewater and Biosolids Spread ARGs?

Why This Matters:

Key Findings:

Bigger Picture:

References:

Engineering the Gut Microbiome

Engineering Commensals and Consortia to Treat Disease

Why This Matters:

Key Findings:

Bigger Picture:

References: