To help answer the fresh produce industry’s most urgent food safety questions, the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) is funding ten new research projects, valued at just over $2.7 million. The funded principal investigators come from research organizations in five U.S. states and Spain.
Of the ten projects, nine were awarded via CPS’s annual call for research proposals, which identified top industry science priorities. This cycle’s projects are designed to answer questions on topics evaluating and mitigating risks associated with waxing roller brushes, enteric viruses, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA’s) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) Subpart E (also known as the Agricultural Water Rule), and other issues. The research focuses on whole and fresh-cut produce from the field to packinghouses, although CPS findings can often be applied to the entire fresh produce supply chain.