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The Food Safety Consortium consists of researchers from the University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Iowa State University and Kansas State University. The FSC was established by Congress in 1988 through a special Cooperative State Research grant to conduct extensive investigation into all areas of poultry, beef and pork meat production, from the farm to the consumer's table. <P>
The purpose of the Consortium, as defined by Congress, is fourfold: <OL> <LI> To develop technology for rapid identification of infectious agents and toxins; <LI> To develop a statistical framework necessary to evaluate the potential health risks; <LI> To determine the most effective intervention points to control microbiological or chemical hazards; <LI> To develop risk monitoring techniques to detect potential hazards in the distribution chain.
NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Pork products may be contaminated with microorganisms or chemicals which may be injurious to human health. The purpose of this grant is to minimize human health hazards from pork products.
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APPROACH: Each of the university members of the Consortium is primarily performing research associated with the specific animal species for which that university is uniquely qualified: poultry at the University of Arkansas, pork at Iowa State University and beef at Kansas State University. Research projects are coordinated with scientists at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children's Hospital. The Iowa State University component of the Food Safety Consortium funded research projects in the areas of on-farm food safety, fresh meat processing, and processed meats. Research scientists representing several academic departments at the University, as well as USDA-ARS and private industry, were involved. The primary basis for research under this research program has been pork and pork products.
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PROGRESS: 2003/07 TO 2006/06 <BR>
The Iowa State University component of the Food Safety Consortium funded six research projects and two equipment grants in 2005-2006. Research scientists representing several academic departments at the university, as well as USDA-ARS and HHS-FDA, were involved. In the area of animal production, Dr. Zhang's research group evaluated the presence of antimicrobial resistant Campylobacters in live pigs. His team investigated the antimicrobial resistance profiles of fecal Campylobacter isolates obtained from a swine farm at different production stages. The susceptibility of the Campylobacter isolates to antimicrobial agents was determined according to the CLSI recommendation. Those results indicated that although ciprofloxacin resistance was not present in C. coli isolates from swine, resistance to other clinically important drugs was common. Those findings plus ongoing studies reveal new information on the epidemiology of antibiotic resistant Campylobacter in swine. Dr. Nancy Cornick's research group has previously shown that E. coli O157:H7 can be transmitted between pigs that share the same pen. In her current research, her team has demonstrated that the transmission of E. coli O157:H7 can occur between pigs that have no direct contact with infected pigs. The team also recovered E. coli O157:H7 from air samples. Those results demonstrate that E. coli O157:H7 is readily transmitted amongst swine. In the area of methodology, Dr. Harris' research group improved a quantitative real-time PCR method for the detection of salmonella in swine tissues. Comparison of qPCR and MPN revealed that viable Salmonella in the spiked fecal samples was within one log of the total amount of Salmonella in the samples. In addition, they researched the identification of Salmonella serotypes using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of conserved Xba1 fragments. The analysis showed a correlation of serotype to PFGE subtype. Brehm-Stecher's research group evaluated rapid flow cytometric detection of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes in pork. Both pathogens were directly detectable at high levels of contamination in cubed pork (Salmonella) and pork franks (Listeria). Unambiguous detection of both pathogens at low levels also was possible after only eight hours of pre-enrichment. Interventions were studied by Dr. Sebranek's research group. That team evaluated the effects of antimicrobial inhibitors and modified atmosphere on salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes on modified atmosphere pork. Lactate and diacetate in combination with high levels of carbon dioxide were investigated for effects on initial Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes numbers and suppression of growth of survivors.
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IMPACT: 2003/07 TO 2006/06<BR>
The Iowa State component of the Food Safety Consortium continues to minimize the risk to consumers of contaminated pork at all levels of the pork system. The research literally covers the continuum from animal production to consumption. The continued efforts of the Consortium are expected to result in safer foods of animal origins for consumers and to assure that the United States pork supply will not be shut out of international markets for safety reasons. The consumer education component is significant in providing accurate and timely information to consumers. Consumer information is provided via the Consortium's funding of the Food Safety Web page. That consumer Web site project has received more than 597,000 visitors during the past year. Visitors accessed the site with an average of approximately 10 minutes per visit. The Consortium also is training the next generation of food safety professionals, who will take the currently knowledge and develop it further. Those professionals will take their roles in government, industry and academia, improving food safety for the next generation.