Margaret Isabella Brownlee Dick (14 September 1918 – 25 September 2008) was a pioneering Australian microbiologist. She is best known for her role as Chief Microbiologist at Kraft Foods Australia and for the development of a methodology for safe food production.[1] She was the first woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology.[2]
Biography
editDick was born in Melbourne to immigrant Scottish parents, Margaret and James Dick.[1] She was the youngest of the four children in the family.[3] She descended from a long line of engineers on her paternal side, including her grandfather, father and all of her uncles. Her mother was a housewife and tailor, while both of her sisters became teachers. Dick's maternal grandfather worked as an accountant.[1]
The family moved from South Africa to Australia in 1914.[1] Her parents decided to move to Australia due to her father's risk of miner's phthisis and the start of the Great War.[1]
Education
editDick was educated at Kew State School, Mont Albert Central School (the leading central school in Melbourne at the time) and Melbourne Girls' High School.[1] Her parents made financial sacrifices so that she and her siblings could attend the best schools.[1] She graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1941 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Dietetics, and Biochemistry.[1][3] Upon graduating with a bachelor's degree, she found work in a medical microbiology laboratory in Adelaide, working under the supervision of several physicians.[1]
Career
editShortly after, Dick returned to Melbourne where she won a role with the Kraft Walker Cheese Company (later Kraft Foods) as assistant to the senior microbiologist.[3]
While working at Kraft, she developed and introduced new microbiological methods into Australia for measuring a range of B group vitamins and amino acids. This research led to her completion of her Master of Science degree in 1955,[2] which was awarded by the University of Melbourne.[1]
She began working for Kraft Foods in 1942 and continued her work for them for 40 years.[3] By 1949, she earned the title of Senior Microbiologist and eventually she would become the Chief Microbiologist for the entire company.[3] She set the microbiology standards for all of the company's products and became an authority on bacteriophage interaction with cheese starters and the occurrence of Staphylococci in dairy products.[2] She outlined and employed the protocols (from a microbiological perspective) for food product monitoring and equipment and employee surveillance that eventually became HACCP (Hazard Analysis by Critical Control Points) standards.[3] She also assisted in the determination of a more effective methodology to test for penicillin in cow's milk.[3] Her last few months of work before retirement, she helped set up a microbiology laboratory in Tanzania. According to Allen, she was an internationally revered expert in the field.[3]
Dick served on a number of committees including:
- Australian Dairy Produce Standards Organization[3]
- Australian Defense Forces Food Standards[3]
- NH&MRC Sub-Committee on Microbiological Food Standards[3]
- Standards Association of Australia.[2]
- Biological Advisory Committee of the National Association of Testing Authorities[3]
She was the only person to serve on the microbiological subcommittee of the National Health and Medical Research Council food standards committee for the entire 25-year duration that it existed.[3]
Final years
editDick never married.[3] She died peacefully at her home in Mornington.[4] She was survived by her niece and nephews.[4]
Selected publications
edit- "The Thermal Stability of Folic (Pteroylglutamic) Acid" appeared in Immunology & Cell Biology, May 1948
- "The Microbiological Assay of Folic Acid" appeared in the Australian Journal of Experimental Biology and Medical Science, May 1948
- "Fermentation of Food" was presented at the Academy of Science[3]
Awards and recognitions
editIn 1970, she won the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology's Award of Merit.[1] That same year, she became their first woman fellow.[1] She became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 1977.[5] In 2001, Dick was awarded a Centenary Medal for her contributions to food science and technology.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Miss Margaret Dick (1918-2008), food microbiologist". Australian Academy of Science.
- ^ a b c d e Farrer, Keith. "Dick, Margaret (1918–2008)". Obituaries Australia. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Allen, Nessy (December 1996). "A Microbiologist in Industry: The Career of an Australian Woman Scientist". Prometheus. 14 (2): 233–247. doi:10.1080/08109029608629220.
- ^ a b Schmeja, Ann (3 November 2008). "Pioneering woman scientist set standards in Australian food hygiene". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Walker, Roseanne (22 April 2009). "Dick, Margaret Isabella Brownlee (1918 - 2008)". Encyclopaedia of Australian Science. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
External links
edit- Margaret Dick interviewed by Hazel de Berg for the Hazel de Berg collection [sound recording], National Library of Australia
- Margaret Isabella Brownlee Dick (1918 - 2008), Encyclopedia of Australian Science
- Miss Margaret Dick (1918-2008), Interviews with Australian Scientists, Australian Academy of Science