Keeping Vegetables Safe: $1 million grant will seek ways to reduce pathogens

Keeping Vegetables Safe: $1 million grant will seek ways to reduce pathogens

COLLEGE STATION—A team of food safety researchers led by Texas A&M University’s Dr. Elsa Murano has received a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to find ways to protect fruits and vegetables.

The grant, “Role of surface-related factors on contamination and survival of pathogens in fresh produce grown in Texas and Mexico,” will allow researchers to study the reasons why E. coli and salmonella resist removal from the surface of fresh produce. They also will develop training for the produce industry and food inspectors.

In addition to Murano, other researchers from Texas A&M are Dr. Matthew Taylor, Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, Dr. Alejandro Castillo and Dr. Juan Anciso. Members from other institutions are Dr. Jorge Fonseca, University of Arizona, and Dr. Miguel Martínez Téllez, Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo in Mexico.

Recent increases in both the number and magnitude of disease outbreaks attributed to contaminated fruits and vegetables have been reported, according to the researchers. The largest outbreak in U.S. history occurred in early 2008 and was caused by consumption of contaminated peppers grown in Mexico, then sold in the U.S.

“In spite of much research over the last decade, questions as to the factors that enable the persistence of harmful bacteria on the surface of certain fruits and vegetables remain unanswered,” the team wrote in its proposal. “For example: How do the chemical and physical properties of the produce surface, as well as the presence of nutrients, affect the ability of pathogens to invade and colonize the surface? Do the types of non-harmful bacteria comprising the microbial community of fruits and vegetables affect the ability of pathogens to thrive in these environments?”

Knowledge gained from the studies will help develop education and training materials for the produce industry and food inspectors in Texas, Arizona and Mexico.

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