An official website of the United States government.
Risk Assessment: Assess food safety risks in agriculture systems Risk Management: Develop science-based interventions to prevent and mitigate food safety threats Risk Communication: Communicate food safety messages to stakeholders
Despite much progress in food testing, plant inspections, and manufacturer and consumer education, outbreaks related to contaminated foods continue to occur. This project will utilize molecular techniques to develop rapid, sensitive and selective assays to accurately detect live pathogens in food, and investigate the usefulness and toxicity of novel antimicrobial compounds at inhibiting such pathogens. Results of this research will be published in scientific journal articles, and presented at scientific meetings and invited seminars around the world. The ultimate goal of this project is to increase the safety of foods that we eat by eliminating or reducing the levels of potentially dangerous pathogens by the use of robust detection tools and potent and safe antimicrobial compounds.