Leafy Greens Research

From the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security

March 23, 2009

The Center for Produce Safety at UC Davis and the California Leafy Greens Research Program awarded grants to seven leading scientists to conduct research that will provide the produce industry with new data to help mitigate the food safety risks associated with leafy greens production.

Funded equally by the two organizations, the awards represent the Center for Produce Safety's first collaboration under the “Partners in Research” program. Partners' grants are co-developed and co-funded with industry partners to address the research priorities of specific commodities, commodity groups and/or growing regions.

Contribution of phyllosphere microbiota to the persistence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 700728 on field-grown lettuce
Maria Marco, PhD, University of California, Davis in collaboration with WIFSS Associate Director Dr. Linda J. Harris

Fly reservoirs of E. coli O157:H7 and their role in contamination of leafy greens
Astri Wayadande, PhD, Oklahoma State University

Food safety risks associated with sheep grazing in vegetable stubble fields
Bruce Hoar, DVM, PhD, University of California, Davis

Minimizing pathogen transference during lettuce harvesting by optimizing the design of the harvesting device and operation practices
Yaguang Luo, PhD, USDA, ERS

A high-throughput, culture-independent approach to identify index and indicator species for E. coli O157:H7 contamination
Gitta Coaker, PhD, University of California, Davis

Survival of attenuated Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 700728 in field-inoculated lettuce
WIFSS Associate Director Dr. Linda Harris, PhD, University of California, Davis

Comparison of surrogate E. coli survival and epidemiology in the phyllosphere of diverse leafy green crops
Trevor Suslow, PhD, University of California, Davis

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is a university partner of the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. The institute is a University of California, Davis program partnering with the California Department of Food and Agriculture; the California Department of Public Health; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The institute welcomes collaboration from individuals, institutions and industries that share the goal of enhancing food safety and security.