October 12, 2000

Research Grants Awarded

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made available research funds in fiscal year 2000 to support research in the areas of produce safety, egg safety, development of extraction procedures of foodborne viruses from foods to enhance detection, evaluation of surrogate microorganisms for use in HACCP validation, and food service, transportation, and consumer practices.

Seven new grants totaling over $1 million were funded.

Project Title: Development of Methods for Virus Extraction from Foods
Organization: Florida Department of Health
Principal Investigator: Lillian Marcus Stark
Award Amount: $198,962

Foodborne viral illness is a major public health concern, and FDA is mandated under the Food Safety initiative to reduce foodborne illness to the greatest extent possible. Norwalk-like viruses (NLVs), based on number of cases. Although advances have been made in detecting viruses in foods, currently there are no standardized methods suitable for routine monitoring and outbreak investigation. This project proposes to develop simple, reliable methods for extraction and detection of viruses from a variety of food products.

Project Title: Development of Viral Extraction Processing and Detection Methods for Food Commodities
Organization: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Principal Investigator:Mark Sobsey, Ph.D., MS., BS
Award Amount: $170,388

The general objective of this project is to develop and standardize an integrated framework of extraction, processing and molecular detection of NLVS and HAV suitable for routine monitoring and outbreak investigation in a variety of food commodities, including intact and minimally processed fruits and vegetables, shellfish, and other complex food items.

Project Title: Effect of Inoculation on Efficacy of Chlorine Dioxide Gas and Chlorinated Water to Decontaminate Produce
Organization: Purdue Research Foundation
Principal Investigator: Richard H. Linton
Award Amount: $104,669

It is a challenge to compare or interpret the efficacy data of antimicrobials determined using different inoculation procedures. An ideal inoculation protocol needs to be standardized to safely determine the efficacy of antimicrobial and ensure the safety of produce. The long-term goal of this proposed research is to improve produce safety by developing and applying novel non-thermal food processing technologies. Results from the proposed research will help improve and ensure the safety of fresh and MPR fruits and vegetables by using new sanitation technologies. Furthermore, it will enhance our understanding of the potential benefits and feasibility of using ClO₂ gas a new disinfectant for food industry.

Project Title: Foodborne Protozoa: Inoculation and Inactivation Methods
Organization: University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.
Principal Investigator: Ynes R. Ortega
Award Amount: $105,173

The objective of this proposal is to determine the effects of inoculation such as dipping, spraying and spotting to analyze the recovery of Cryptosporidium parvum and Cyclospora cayetanensis each individually from produce. Optimal time between inoculation and recovery will be evaluated. The project will also determine the efficacy of inactivation against parasites (Cryptosporidium parvum and Cyclospora cayetanensis) in experimentally inoculated basil, strawberries, raspberries and tomatoes by home cooking practices such as microwave, boiling and steam and consumer practices such as storage of food in refrigeration at different times and temperatures.

Project Title: Home Refrigeration Knowledge and Practice of Consumers
Organization: Tennessee State University
Principal Investigator: Sandra L. Godwin
Award Amount: $163,632

The goals are to obtain information to support the science behind the U.S. Public Health Service Code, which provides guidance to the retail and food service industry, as well as information to support guidance to the consumer. Little is known about the actual refrigeration practices of American consumers, although proper cooling of foods is known to help prevent food borne illness. Thus, the overall goal of this project will be to determine the food refrigeration knowledge and practices of consumers in six states.

The goals are to ensure egg safety by developing improved sampling and detection methods for detection of low-levels of and enumeration of Salmonella Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) in eggs. A longitudinal study is proposed which addresses the need to develop better on-farm indicators for predicting whether eggs are contaminated with S. Enteritidis.

Project Title: Surrogates for Evaluating Efficacy of Thermal Processes
Organization: National Food Processors Association
Principal Investigator: David Ernest Gombas
Award Amount: $122,175

The National Food Processors Association has established process recommendations for pasteurization of juices, and thermal processing of hot dog batter, chicken meat and surimi-based imitation crab. This study will be conducted (1) to identify potential surrogate organisms for evaluating adequacy of the recommended health processes and (2) to evaluate the utility of their use for validating the processes in inoculated pack studies.

We hope you will agree that these projects funded by FDA target some of the problems facing the food supply today.