The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has awarded research, education and extension grants of almost US$42m to 24 institutions in a bid to reduce food-borne illnesses and deaths from microbial contamination.
“While the US food supply is generally considered to be one of the safest in the world, approximately 48m Americans become sick each year due to food-borne illnesses,” said Dr Catherine Woteki, USDA chief scientist and under secretary for Research, Education and Economics.
“These grants support the development of a more complete understanding of the sources and implications of microbial contamination and will promote the adoption of new food safety strategies and technologies. The goal is to greatly improve the safety of our food supply and ultimately save lives.”
Projects were funded in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Highlights include:
• A project in Iowa to examine the factors contributing to the appearance of staph bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) on raw meat and study the relationship between meat contamination and human staph infections.
• A project in Washington State to expand the commercial possibilities of microwave technologies for the control of harmful bacterial and viral pathogens in packaged foods, particularly ready-to-eat foods, deli meats, and seafoods.
• A project in Florida to identify the specific Salmonella genes that allow the bacteria to attach to and persist on tomatoes.
A full list of awardees can be found online.
