Scientists Receive $2 Million To Improve Food Safety
March 13, 2013 Scientists at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and North Carolina State University are looking to naturally improve the safety of organic produce. Their study, “Alternative Post-harvest Washing Solutions to Enhance the Microbial Safety and Quality of Organic Fresh Produce,” began last fall.
The four-year, multidisciplinary project is supported by a nearly $2 million grant from the USDA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) program. Dr. Qixin Zhong, an associate professor in the UT Department of Food Science and Technology, leads the initiative.
“The goal of the project is to provide safe, alternative, sustainable, and effective treatments to reduce foodborne illnesses caused by E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella contamination in organic produce,” said Zhong.
The group hopes to provide those effective treatments in the form of alternative organic antimicrobials — naturally occurring substances such as organic essential oils that fight pathogens like E. coli — added to postharvest wash water.
“To improve microbiological safety of organic produce, there is an urgent need to develop washing practices that not only enhance sanitation effectiveness but also fulfill the requirement of organic fresh produce,” said Zhong.
As part of the project, the researchers also will evaluate the economic feasibility of their work and impact on the shelf life of various types of organic produce.
Researchers and Extension specialists from the UT Institute of Agriculture and North Carolina State University are partnering to work on a nearly $2 million grant from USDA’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) program.
“The research team is very eager to make sure the outcomes from this project will be applicable to organic growers throughout the United States,” said Faith Critzer, a UT Extension specialist and faculty member of the UT Department of Food Science and Technology.
To achieve that goal, researchers partnered with a group of organic produce growers who will provide feedback throughout the study. In addition, the team will share research findings through webcasts, written fact sheets, and a series of workshops held in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Project partners include Dr. Qixin Zhong, associate professor in the UT Department of Food Science and Technology; Faith Critzer, UT assistant professor and food safety extension specialist; Dr. P. Michael Davidson, UT professor of food microbiology; Dr. David Lockwood, UT professor and extension specialist in fruit and nut crops; Dr. Annette Wszelaki, UT assistant professor and commercial vegetable extension specialist; Jonathan Baros, farm and agribusiness management with (Plants For Human Health Institute) PHHI; Dr. Jeanine Davis, NCSU associate professor and extension specialist in organic crops; Dr. MaryAnne Drake, NCSU professor in sensory analysis and flavor chemistry; Diane Ducharme, GAPs program coordinator and extension associate in horticulture and food safety with PHHI; and Dr. Penelope Perkins-Veazie, professor and postharvest physiologist with PHHI.
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