Davis, CA July 25, 2013 - The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) held its fourth annual Produce Research Symposium in Rochester, NY at the Wegmans Conference Center on June 25-26, 2013. The symposium featured sixteen CPS-funded research programs and discussions on what the research means to the produce industry. While the full technical reports for these research programs can be found on the CPS website at centerforproducesafety.org, we have endeavored to identify ten key lessons learned from the symposium.
“Right after the conclusion of the CPS Symposium, Dr. Jim Gorny (PMA vice president of food safety and technology and CPS technical committee chair) and I began organizing our thoughts around the specific findings that were critical additions to the industry’s food safety knowledge base,” said Dr. Bob Whitaker, PMA’s chief science and technology officer. “We sorted through the presentations and connected themes that the scientists touched on and even went back to previously reported CPS-funded projects to complete our translation of the basic science into lessons that the industry can use to improve their operational food safety programs.” Dr. Gorny stated, “It is our hope that the critical lessons we have outlined here will assist the produce industry supply chain in developing more targeted, science-based food safety programs.”
Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, executive director for CPS remarked, “We are fortunate at the Center for Produce Safety to have a number of vehicles to distribute research findings. The scientists that conduct the research share their results at science symposia, in publications, and through extension presentations. In fact, CPS research will be presented at the upcoming International Association of Food Protection annual meeting that will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina.” Fernandez-Fenaroli continued, “We appreciate the dissemination of research results through trade and commodity specific associations. We ask the produce supply chain to help us identify channels to distribute research findings. It is critical that this information is made available to those in the supply chain that can use it to maximize their food safety knowledge.”
About CPS
The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) is focused exclusively on providing the produce industry and government with open access to the actionable information needed to continually enhance the safety of produce. Established by public and private partnership at the University of California, Davis, initial funding for CPS was provided by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the University of California, Produce Marketing Association and Taylor Farms. Ongoing administrative costs are covered by the Produce Marketing Association, enabling industry and public funds to go exclusively to research.
CPS Contact:
Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli, Executive Director
Phone (530) 757-5777, bfernandez@centerforproducesafety.org
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