A MULTISTATE PARTNERSHIP FOR IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF MEAT AND POULTRY AT FARMERS MARKETS THROUGH INTEGRATING TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

The overall goal of this multi-institutional, interdisciplinary, integrated project is to enhance the safety of locally processed meat and poultry at farmers markets and other sources of direct farmer-to-consumer sales through integrating education, research, and outreach activities. The specific objectives of this project are to: 1) develop new curricula integrating food science, experiential training, and research experiences, 2) isolate and identify bacteriophages and test their efficacy by electrostatic sprayer on chicken meat, 3) determine food safety practices among small poultry and meat processors and vendors, 4) evaluate consumers acceptance of the use of phages to control pathogens and determine the economic feasibility of the proposed pathogen control strategy, and 5) develop food safety educational and training materials and organize workshops for small poultry and meat vendors.