Woodland, CA 10.18.2016 -The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) today announced 10 new research awards valued at over $2 million. The awards are for research projects directed at answering critical 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. The objective is to provide the produce industry with practical, translatable research data that can be used at all levels of the supply chain.
"We are excited to team with CPS because CPS helps to link fundamental research with real-world practice, and helps us as researchers to access industry input to maximize our project's impact," said Dr. Kyle Bibby, University of Pittsburgh and a first-time CPS award recipient. "Our research will begin developing an indicator for viral pollution in irrigation water that is more reliable than the indicators that are currently available. We know how vital irrigation water safety and quality is to growers, and to public confidence in the safety of fresh produce." 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. |
2016 RFP Grant Recipients (projects will begin January 2017): Ana Allende, CEBAS CSIS Spain Mary Anne Amalaradjou, University of Connecticut 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 Trevor Suslow, University of California, Davis Resolving postharvest harborage sites of Listeria protects Zone 1 surfaces Keith Warriner, University of Guelph Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University 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 by CPS, click HERE. |
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