Center for Produce Safety awards new research projects
The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) has presented 10 new research awards valued at over $2 million. The awards are for research projects directed at answering questions in specific areas of food safety practices for fruits and vegetables; pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest handling; and food safety and the environment, according to CPS. The objective is to provide the produce industry with research data that can be used at all levels of the supply chain.
The awards were made possible by funds provided by the Center for Produce Safety’s campaign contributors, the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.
Below is a list of the 2016 grant recipients, with projects beginning in January 2017:
- Ana Allende, CEBAS CSIS Spain — Establishment of operating standards for produce wash systems through the identification of specific metrics and test methods
- Mary Anne Amalaradjou, University of Connecticut — Listeria monocytogenes growth and survival on peaches and nectarines as influenced by stone fruit packing house operations, storage and transportation conditions.
- Kyle Bibby, University of Pittsburgh — Developing Cross-Assembly Phage as a Viral Indicator for Irrigation Waters
- Linda Harris, University of California, Davis — Characterization and mitigation of bacteriological risks associated with packing fresh-market citrus
- Gerardo Lopez, University of Arizona — Cyclospora: Potential Reservoirs and Occurrence in Irrigation Waters
- Xiaonan Lu, University of British Columbia — Detection, validation, and assessment of risks implied by the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state of enteric bacterial pathogens in fresh produce
- Trevor Suslow, University of California, Davis — Resolving postharvest harborage sites of Listeria protects Zone 1 surfaces
- Keith Warriner, University of Guelph — Significance of the dormant state in the persistence, interaction with growing plants and virulence of Shiga Toxin producing Escherichia coli
- Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University — Remotely-sensed and field-collected hydrological, landscape and weather data can predict the quality of surface water used for produce production
- Meijun Zhu, Washington State University — Control of Listeria monocytogenes on apple through spray manifold-applied antimicrobial intervention
To date, CPS has funded 120 projects valued at over $20 million. To view additional information on projects that have been funded, visit the Center for Produce Safety website.