The primary goal of this project is to implement a cooperative agreement for the continued support of the Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS), which functions as a collaborative partnership between FDA and the University of California, Davis. The long-term goals of this center are five-fold: 1) Continue to conduct multidisciplinary applied laboratory, field and educational research regarding the safety of agriculture production to generate practical solutions that can be implemented by the agricultural community and consequently, enhance food safety and food defense for FDA-regulated products; 2) Continue to develop and maintain communication with various stakeholders, domestic and international, involved in food production and food safety in order to identify food safety knowledge gaps and opportunities to leverage resources; 3) Continue to enhance technical assistance outreach and educational efforts through various channels, including seminars, presentations, serving on technical advisory boards and committees, and outreach through agriculture extension appointments; 4) Continue to engage in multi-institutional collaborations to ensure that FDA has the most current scientific thinking on best agricultural practices across varying agro-ecological landscapes; 5) Continue to assist the FDA in implementing food safety standards under FSMA. These long-term goals will be achieved through the execution of the objectives set forth by WCFS key personnel during proposed research and outreach activities. WCFS activities will achieve multiple food safety and food defense objectives through the fulfillment of three overall aims: 1) Enhance and expand multidisciplinary research that generates real-world data that the FDA may use to fill in knowledge gaps and develop science-based guidance that promote public health and food safety; 2) Provide technical assistance to the farming and food processing communities through outreach, training, and educational materials to help communities both comply with rules set forth under FSMA and improve community understanding of their roles for insuring food safety utilizing the best available data; and 3) Continuously build relationships with domestic and international partners enabling WCFS to successfully leverage multiple resources to maximize the achievement and impact of research, education, and outreach objectives. Proposed projects in the first year involve the generation of data and outreach materials related to implementation of cooperative water monitoring, fate of foodborne pathogens in postharvest activities, evaluation of risks associated with equipment in leafy green and tree nut production, and pathogen survival and potential regrowth associated with biological soil amendments.
The primary goal of this proposal is to continue the Food and Drug Administration?s (FDA) support for the Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS). The partnership between WCFS and FDA over the past 10 years has been exceptionally productive in supporting FDA?s public health mission by conducting studies that address knowledge gaps surrounding the safe production of fresh produce. As a result of these efforts, the risk of foodborne bacterial contamination of produce for the U.S. consumer will be reduced, thereby improving public health and the safety of the nation?s food supply.
