The Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory’s missions are to provide services (disease diagnostic, quarantine, and therapeutic evaluation) to the shrimp industry worldwide, conduct training on shrimp disease diagnostics, and carry out basic research in discovering disease etiology, developing diagnostic tools, and understanding the molecular basis of microbial pathogenesis in shrimp.

Our laboratory provides monthly propagation of C. parvum (Iowa) oocysts in calves, purification and worldwide distribution to Cryptosporidium researchers at cost; conducts efficacy and safety testing of new treatment candidates in the calf clinical model of cryptosporidiosis; and conducts selection of monoclonal antibodies generated against Cryptosporidium available for a variety of research applications.

The Food Products and Safety Laboratory is a state of the art, USDA inspected processing facility with full harvesting facilities, processing and fabrication rooms, and an interactive auditorium classroom for instruction in meat animal composition and food safety.

Located in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences on the main campus at the University of Arizona, the Ravishankar Lab has been testing food products for their safety and quality since 2013. 

We conduct the following testing/analyses and more!

• Shelf-life testing: Canned foods, salsas, sauces, dips, cheeses, ranches, protein bars, fresh produce, juices, meats, poultry, seafood, dairy, etc.
• Microbiological testing: Indicator bacteria, including aerobic plate counts, coliforms, generic Escherichia coli, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and molds, and others
• Foodborne pathogenic screening for food products
• Food quality testing: pH, water activity, moisture content, color, texture, viscosity, etc.
• Aflatoxin testing: mesquite flour, corn flour, acorn flour, spices, cereal products, etc.