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<Ol> <LI>Develop or improve methods for control or elimination of pathogens in pre-and post harvest environments including meat, poultry, seafood, fruits and vegetables and nutmeats. <LI>Develop and validate mathematical modeling to gain understanding of pathogen behavior in macro and micro-environments. <LI>Investigate factors leading to the emergence, persistence and elimination of antimicrobial resistance in food processing and animal production environments. </ol>
Outputs: Validated decontamination methods that can be used by the fruit, vegetable, seafood, meat and poultry industry to enhance the safety of their finished product Outreach/extension education and training materials for regulatory personnel, producers, processors, consumers
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 1999) reported new, more accurate estimates of foodborne illnesses that occur annually. An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne illness, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths occur each year from food-borne microorganisms (Mead et al., 1999). The goals of this project are to use multiple scientific methods of investigation (experimental studies, pilot projects, epidemilogical investigations) to determine the most effective ways to prevent food from becoming contaminated, either before they are harvested, or at multiple stages of processing. Understanding how food products become contaminted will provide insight into how to control this growing threat to food safety and public health. Outcomes or projected Impacts: 1. Enhanced safety of fruit, vegetable, seafood, meat, and poultry products 2. Increased understanding of food safety measures by regulatory personnel, producers, processors, consumers, extension agents 3. Overall enhanced food safety for consumers.
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APPROACH: Goals will be reached by a combination of laboratory experimentation and in field epidemilogical studies. Full project methods are available on the project website: http://nimss.umd.edu/homepages/outline.cfm?trackID=6776