Researchers at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are researching a sunlight-based method for controlling microbial contaminants—specifically, Salmonella and Escherichia coli—in irrigation water used for food crops. After enough research is conducted, the UGA team hopes to create an app that will help growers enhance food safety.

As the intended enforcement discretion period for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Agricultural Water Proposed Rule will come to an end on January 26, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a fact sheet to help prepare growers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA’s AMS) has found the majority of fruits and vegetables in the U.S. to contain pesticide residues below the tolerances established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to the agency’s Pesticide Data Program (PDP) summary for 2021.

Tracking environmental temperature changes for their impacts on food safety is increasingly important, as just a few degrees of change will shape how food risks develop and unfold, according to recent research.

To help growers mitigate food safety risks posed by wild birds, an ongoing study funded by the Center for Produce Safety is examining the prevalence of different species in agriculture and whether they carry and transmit foodborne pathogens.

A Center for Produce Safety-funded study is working to characterize the physiological changes that occur in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC) bacteria that is present on romaine lettuce during postharvest cooling and refrigerated transport to processors, which could affect the pathogen’s virulence and detectability characteristics. The end goal of the research is to develop an easily accessible online tool for industry that identifies practices to mitigate the risks of STEC transmission via romaine lettuce.

The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) has shared its initial reactions to the newly published rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)—Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods (Food Traceability Final Rule).

The Washington State Department of Agriculture and its partners have developed an online, animated tool with learning modules to help growers comply with the sanitation requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule.

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Food Safety Coalition (CEA Food Safety Coalition) has changed its name to the CEA Alliance, and has expanded its mission to serve the broader needs of all controlled environment food growers.

Two studies funded by the Center for Produce Safety aim to identify production practices that may contribute to Salmonella contamination of bulb onions and food safety control strategies for the commodity.