To advance food safety in the fresh produce sector, the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) has announced 14 new research projects, totaling $3.3 million in grants. Topics to be explored in this year’s research will include, but are not limited to, flood setback distances, brush sanitation, and plant-animal coexistence, with a targeted emphasis on pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157, Salmonella, Cyclospora, and hepatitis A.

The projects, which will begin in January 2025 and are expected to be completed within one or two years, are:

• "Developing an Automated and Digital Tool for Integrated Bird Pest Management in Fresh Produce Fields," Chetan Badgujar, Ph.D., University of Tennessee
• "Genomic and Phenotypic Assessment of E. Coli O157 REPEXH02 Strains," Teresa M. Bergholz, Ph.D., Michigan State University
• "Hydrogel Affinity Particles to Enable High Throughput Screening of Soft Fruits for Intact HAV Virions," Aaron Bivins, Ph.D., Louisiana State University
• "How Does Weather Influence Transmission of E. Coli O157 From Animal Operations to Produce Fields?," Kerry Cooper, Ph.D., University of Arizona
• "Color and Material Optimization of Brushes for Improved Light-Based Sanitation," Govindaraj Dev Kumar, Ph.D., University of Georgia
• "Development of a Screening Assay for Hepatitis A Virus Which Correlates to Infectivity," Lee-Ann Jaykus, Ph.D., Emerita, North Carolina State University
• "An Immunomagnetic Separation Method for Concentrating and Increasing the Recovery Efficiency of Cyclospora," Asis Khan, Ph.D., the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS)
• "Validation of Novel DNA Isolation Procedures From Limited Numbers of Cyclospora Oocysts," Scott Lenaghan, Ph.D., University of Tennessee
• "Methods for Determining Groundwater Under the Influence of Surface Water, and BMPs for Mitigating Distribution System Contamination," Channah Rock, Ph.D., University of Arizona
• "Two Validated First-Level Screening Assays for Infectious Hepatitis A Virus by Detection of an Intact Capsid on Frozen Berries," Jose Santos Garcia Alvarado, Ph.D., Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon
• "Salmonella Risk is Enhanced by Onion Condition or Defect," Abby Snyder, Ph.D., Cornell University
• "Solutions to Brush Sanitation Tailored to the Producer’s Appetite for Capital Investment and Labor Intensity," Abby Snyder, Ph.D., Cornell University
• "Agent-Based Models Can Predict Appropriate Risk-Based Setback Distances for Flooded Fields," Martin Wiedmann, Ph.D., Cornell University
• "Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessments Need to Consider Quality Parameters to Accurately Predict Produce Food Safety Risks," Martin Wiedmann, Ph.D., Cornell University.