Fish Health and Food Safety Research

APPROACH: This agreement covers two research initiatives. The agreement initially provided for fish disease research. The Food Safety initiative was added in 9/1999.It was envisioned that Faculty of the College of Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Sciences would collaborate in this initiative. Faculty was not concurrently available to participate in developing the research protocols at the time that food safety initiative was added. Currently protocols have been developed for the following project: effect of heat stress and feed additives on colonization by food-borne pathogens in broiler chickens; evaluation of the use of naturally occurring, antimicrobial agents to reduce Listeria monocytogenes population in foods and food animals; characterization of a new strain of Listeria monocytogenes; as well as establish collaborations with faculty at USDA, ARS, Food Science Department in Athens, GA; selection of suitable graduate students interested in the above projects, and procure facilities to house chickens required in one of the proposed studies.

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PROGRESS: 2001/09 TO 2006/07<BR>
Progress Report 4d Progress report. This report serves to document research conducted under a Specific Cooperative Agreement between ARS and the Tuskegee Institute. Additional details of research can be found in the report for the inhouse research project 6420-32000021-00D, Nutrition, Immune System Enhancement and Physiology of Aquatic Animals. Work conducted in this project was conducted at the Food Science Department in Athens, GA. The objective of this agreement was to study the effect of heat stress and feed additives on colonization by food-borne pathogens in broiler chickens and evaluate the use of naturally occuring antimicrobial agents to reduce Listeria monocytogense population in food and food animals.