Source: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, OAKLAND submitted to
FRESH PRODUCE SAFETY, CA
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0221616
Grant No.
2010-34608-20768
Project No.
CA-SW-ADM-7888-SG
Proposal No.
2010-01449
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
BB-Z
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2010
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2013
Grant Year
2010
Project Director
Allen-Diaz, B.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, OAKLAND
1111 FRANKLIN, 6TH FLOOR
OAKLAND,CA 94607
Performing Department
Interdepartmental
Non Technical Summary
Non-Technical Summary: This competitive research program will advance scientific knowledge in sources and causes of foodborne illnesses. Consumer confidence in fresh produce is critical; these foods are essential to achieving national nutrition enhancement and obesity-reduction goals in significantly cutting long-term health costs. Currently we lack sufficient science-based knowledge to develop reliable, cost-effective best management strategies and educational programs for growers, packers, shippers, grocers and other end users. As a result, industry is employing costly measures, predicated only on "best guesses," in an attempt to reduce sources of contamination. The Center for Produce Safety at UC Davis will coordinate this project with private sector funding received for produce food safety research. Priorities will be set by a broad advisory group of academia, industry, NGOs, and government agencies. Requests for proposals based on these priorities will be solicited from throughout the state and nation. Proposals will be reviewed and rated by science panels to ensure high quality research focused on issues of high priority.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
90%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
7121430106030%
7121420106020%
7121460106020%
5011430106030%
Goals / Objectives
The objective of this work is to advance science-based knowledge on food safety through a competitive grants program. This work will be directly applied to the development of good agricultural practices to be implemented by producers to ensure a safe produce food supply. Priorities will be built upon issue identification work that has already taken place in the state.
Project Methods
The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) at UC Davis will administer the grants program. This federal appropriation for the proposed competitive research grant program would be leveraged by approximately $4 million in contributions from the produce industry and state of California, and would focus on food contamination with human pathogens. Priorities for funding will be determined through consultation with a 31-person Technical Advisory Committee (Appendix 1), composed of national food safety experts from academia, the agricultural community and governmental agencies. There are several different prioritization processes that have been developed by different agencies and organizations, as well as adoption of industry-wide Good Agricultural Practices. The Technical Advisory Committee will coordinate these various priorities to develop requests for proposals. High priority commodities for funding include leafy greens, tomatoes, melons, green onions, and herbs. Priorities for foodborne pathogens to be investigated include E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Listerium. The funding for the overall Fresh Produce Food Safety program will include these federal funds, as well as over $4 million in state and private research funding that has been awarded to CPS to administer. There is good leveraging of federal, state and private funding to move this forward as an integrated research program. The University of California has a long history of administering joint federal, state and private competitive grant programs. The Viticulture Consortium Program and Pierces Disease Research Program, also utilizing CSREES funding, utilize a similar model and have produced high quality research that has had a direct economic and environmental impact in the state, region and nation. The Requests for Proposals will be circulated to the broad cross-section of University of California, California State University, USDA-ARS, and other academic and private research institutions throughout the country to ensure wide exposure of the program to the research community. A Scientific Review Panel, composed of a subset of the Advisory Board, along with selected other scientific experts, will review all proposals received. All proposals will be ranked and allocated to the federal funding program or other sources of funds depending on the term and nature of the research. The Principal Investigator (Associate Vice President Allen-Diaz) will make the final decision on the awarding of the projects funded with the federal funds. ANR will allocate funds to the successful projects through subawards to the appropriate campus or organization. Continued funding will require annual reports, which will be posted on the CPS website. Annual reports will be developed on the results of the research, and feed directly into Good Agricultural Practices utilized by the industry. An annual research meeting will be held to present the results to the broad array of producers, consumer groups, and regulatory agencies.

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for these projects were California, regional and national grower/shippers, retail and food service buyers, scientists, academic, produce industry representatives, and members of regulatory agencies. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided opportunities for undergraduate student in-lab and in-field training and also postdoctoral development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dr. Michele Jay-Russell, UC Davis, presented final results at the 2011 CPS Produce Research Symposium in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Michelle Danyluk, University of Florida, presented final results at the 2012 CPS Produce Research Symposium in Davis, California. Dr. Steven Koike, UC Cooperative Extension, Dr. Lynne McLandsborough, University of Massachusetts, and Max Teplitski, University of Florida, presented final results at the 2013 CPS Produce Research Symposium in Rochester, New York. There were 300-500 participants at each symposium including California, regional and national grower/shippers, retail and food service buyers, scientists, academic, produce industry representatives, and members of regulatory agencies. The project results are posted on the CPS website, disseminated at industry meetings and streamed through social media sources. Final results are also included in the following manner: Final reports are posted on the CPS website (https://cps.ucdavis.edu/grant_opportunities_awards.php) after the June 2014 symposium. CPS also works with scientists to publish results in scientific journals. Publication dates occur after the project is completed. Awards and abstracts can be found on the CPS website. The Center for Produce Safety’s Board of Directors and members of the Technical Committee distribute a series of information throughout the year on their websites, and through presentations, meetings and webinars. An example of this occurred on July 18, 2013 when Western Growers Association held a webinar for their members. Information discussed at the webinar is now part of the “Key Learnings” on the CPS website: https://cps.ucdavis.edu/amass/documents/document/186/Key%20Learnings_2013%20CPS%20Symposium.pdf. The following websites provide additional resources on the final reports and symposium proceedings: Center for Produce Safety: https://cps.ucdavis.edu/resources.php Produce Marketing Association: http://pma.com Western Growers Association: http://www.wga.com/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A technical committee, composing of scientists from academic institutions, government agencies and other selected entities, reviewed the proposals received and recommended to the PI funding of four 1-2 year research projects and one 6-month rapid response research project (listed in Products/Outputs) utilizing the 2010 Fresh Produce Safety (CA) grant funds. Following are some significant results of the individual projects: Project was to determine the chemical and biophysical characteristics of harvest binds and glove materials and their influence upon the bacterial survival and the bacterial transfer to tomatoes and sanitation efficiency upon plastic materials. The study showed that surface hydrophobicity, chemical spectra and surface topography were determined for new and worn bucket materials and glove materials. Abraded materials showed changes in contact angle hysteresis. Bin materials inoculated with a cocktail of Salmonella sp. were observed to have a 1.5?3 log reduction after two days of incubation with lower numbers recovered as the storage progressed over a 28 day study. The level of persistently surviving organisms varied based upon the inoculation method, with the presence of soil having the greater influence of bacterial recovery, with a 3?4 log higher recovery of “persister” cells. Bacterial transfer from gloves to tomatoes varied according to glove material type (vinyl, latex, nitrile and low density polyethylene) or tomato type (ripe grape tomatoes or green breaker tomatoes). Direct and indirect effects of the irrigation regime on post-harvest susceptibility of tomatoes and peppers to Salmonella were tested in three field seasons conducted in two locations in Florida (North and Central Florida). The most important discovery is that there were dramatic differences in susceptibility to Salmonella depending on the maturity stage of the picked fruit. Tomatoes at USDA ripening stage 6 were significantly more susceptible to Salmonella. Peppers were generally more susceptible to infections with Salmonella than tomatoes. The irrigation regime per se had only modest and not statistically significant effect on the susceptibility of the fruit to post-harvest infections with Salmonella. The presence of soft rots or lesions caused by Xanthomonas and/or Pseudomonas spp significantly promoted proliferation of Salmonella in fruit, but tomatoes without obvious signs of disease picked from plants showing signs of phytopathology elsewhere were not any more susceptible to Salmonella. The projects original hypothesis was that the use of contaminated clean or dirty cloths in the field during tomato harvest to eliminate debris effectively increased the risk of widespread contamination. Salmonella, from a wet or 1 h dry inoculum, is able to contaminate at least 25 tomatoes that are touched with a contaminated clean or dirty cloth. While no growth of Salmonella on tomato cartons was observed, populations inoculated onto dirty cartons and stored at 12°C for 7 days were significantly higher than those on new or used cartons, and those at all conditions stored at 25°C. It was thought that presence of debris on tomato cartons coupled with storage at temps below ambient, increases the survival of Salmonella on tomato cartons and that the re-use of dirty, contaminated packing containers would increase the risk of wide-spread tomato contamination. Under no conditions was the transfer of Salmonella to/from tomatoes from new cartons greater than that from used or dirty cartons; the transfer from dirty cartons was less than from clean or used cartons. More information was needed on where and how E. coli comes in contact with leafy greens in the field, how E. coli survives there, and how production factors influence pathogen survival. For the field trails a lower concentration of inoculum was applied: and only half the volume of inoculum was applied per square foot as compared with previous trails. Despite the decreases in inoculum concentration and volume, a very large amount of bacteria was applied to the trial crops, an amount exponentially greater than what would be anticipated in a likely irrigation water contamination event. There appears to have been more persistent in the environment than E. coli, with a greater number of samples testing positive for Salmonella than for E. coli across the experiment. Salmonella also appears to have thrived (or competitors that interfere with detection declined) as it adapted to the environment, as greater numbers of overall samples tested positive for Salmonella as time progressed in the sampling season. An emergency-response project to determine if free-roaming domestic dogs and coyotes in Arizona regions shed STEC and/or Salmonella enterica in their feces. We found marked differences in the occurrence of pathogenic E. coli, which was rarely cultured, compared with Salmonella, which was relatively common in feces from shelter dogs and coyotes. Two shiga toxin-negative E. coli O157 strains were cultured from coyote scat samples and none from dog fecal samples. The public health significance of finding shiga toxin-negative EHEC serogroups (O26, O103, O113, O145, O157) in these shelter dog and coyote populations is unknown, although a few carried other virulence determinants. In contrast, Salmonella was cultured from 9.2% of shelter dog feces (range 3.2-14.9%) and approximately 1 of every 3 coyote scat samples collected in or near produce fields.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Friedrich, L, K. Schneider, and M. Danyluk. 2012. Transfer potential of Salmonella between cardboard cartons and tomatoes. International Association for Food Protection 2012 Annual Meeting Abstract P-34.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Koike, S.T. Field studies: E. coli/Salmonella survival. CA Leafy Greens Research Board - Grower series on food safety, Salinas California
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Suslow, T.V. Survival of E. coli and Salmonella in contaminated soil and current research towards remediation and on-farm and postharvest sources of Listeria contamination. 23rd Annual Fall Desert Crops Workshop, El Centro
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Sreedharan, A., M.D. Danyluk, and K.R. Schneider. 2013. Determine the transfer coefficient of Salmonella between green tomatoes and cotton cloth used for debris removal in a laboratory model system. International Association for Food Protection 2013 Annual Meeting
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M., Noel, J.T., McClelland, M., Creary, E., Alagely, A. 2011. High throughput screens reveal Salmonella behaviors required for persistence in tomatoes. Phytopathology 101 (6): S176
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Zaragoza, W., Teplitski, M. 2011. The effect of phase variation on the interactions of Salmonella enterica sv. Typhimurium with tomatoes. Phytopathology 101 (6): S200
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Noel, J.T., Teplitski, M. 2011. Does pectolytic activity of phytopathogens enhance Salmonella proliferation in tomato fruits? Phytopathology 101 (6): S212-S213
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cox, C.E., McClelland, M., Teplitski, M. 2013. Consequences of disrupting Salmonella AI-2 signaling on interactions within soft rots. Phytopathology dx.doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-09-12-0237-FI
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Bartz, J., Mahovic, M., Spiceland, D., Teplitski, M. 2012. Detached leaf assay adapted to tomato pericarp sections for modeling contamination of tomato fruit by Salmonella Typhimurium. Phytopathology 102 (7): S4.9
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Brandl, M., Cox, C.E., Teplitski, M. 2013. Salmonella interactions with plants and their associated microbiota. Phytopathology
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Valadez, A.M., K.R. Schneider, M.D. Danyluk. 2012. Growth, reduction and survival of bacteria on tomatoes. EDIS Publication FSHN 12-06 http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs190
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Valadez, A.M., K.R. Schneider, M.D. Danyluk. 2012. Outbreaks of foodborne disease associated with tomatoes. EDIS Publication FSHN 12-08 http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs192
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Danyluk, M. Pathogen transfer associated with tomato specific packing operations. Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association Congress, Sandusky, OH, 2013.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Danyluk, M Pathogen transfer risks associated with specific tomato harvest and packing operations  Transfer from Tomato Cartons. Center for Produce Safety, Produce Research Symposium, Davis, CA, 2012.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: George, A. , Noel, J., Teplitski, M. 2012. The role of P. carotovorum in the increased proliferation of S. Typhimurium in tomatoes (Poster Presentation). 2012 Annual Education Conference, Florida Association for Food Protection, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL. May 9-11, 2012
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Gause, E., Noel, J., Marvasi, M., George, A., Teplitski, M. 2012. Proliferation and performance of Salmonella in various cultivars of tomato (Poster Presentation). 2012 Annual Education Conference, Florida Association for Food Protection, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL. May 9-11, 2012
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: functional genomics analysis of Salmonella-tomato interactions. Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida. December 6, 2011
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: functional genomics analysis of Salmonella-tomato interactions. Co-sponsored by Plant Pathology Department and BTI, Cornell University. November 16, 2011. Ithaca, NY
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Danyluk, M Risk Potential for Postharvest Transfer. Advanced topics in Microbial food Safety of Fresh Produce Workshop. UC Davis Alumni Center, Davis, CA and Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Wimauma, FL, 2011
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Teplitski, M. Irrigation regime, fruit water congestion and produce safety: parameter optimization to reduce susceptibility of tomatoes and peppers to post-harvest contamination, pathogen transfer and proliferation of Salmonella. Produce Research Symposium, Center for Produce Safety, University of California-Davis. June 27, 2012
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Does pectolytic activity of phytopathogens enhance Salmonella proliferation in tomato fruits? Joint Meeting American Phytopathological Society  International Society of Plant Protection, August 6-10, 2011. Honolulu, HI
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: using functional genomics to understand Salmonella- proliferation in tomato fruits? Joint Meeting American Phytopathological Society  International Society of Plant Protection, August 6-10, 2011. Honolulu, HI
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: using functional genomics to understand Salmonella-tomato interactions and promoter safer produce. Global Food Security and Plant Biosecurity Symposium. November 8-9, 2011. Baton Rouge, LA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: J. Cotter, J. Talbert, J. Goddard, W. Autio and L. McLandsborough. Influence of soil particles on the survival of Salmonella on plastic tomato harvest containers. IAFP National Meeting 2012. Technical Session 1, T1?04.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Danyluk, M.D. 2012. Pathogen transfer risks associated with specific tomato harvest and packing operations  Transfer from cloth during harvest. Center for Produce Safety, Produce Research Symposium, p. 23.


Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for these projects is California, regional and national grower/shippers, retail and food service buyers, scientists, academic, produce industry representatives, and members of regulatory agencies. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project has provided opportunities for undergraduate student in-lab and in-field training and also postdoctoral development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Dr. Michele Jay-Russell, UC Davis, presented final results at the 2011 CPS Produce Research Symposium in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Michelle Danyluk, University of Florida, presented final results at the 2012 CPS Produce Research Symposium in Davis, California. Dr. Steven Koike, UC Cooperative Extension, Dr. Lynne McLandsborough, University of Massachusetts, and Max Teplitski, University of Florida, presented final results at the 2013 CPS Produce Research Symposium in Rochester, New York. There were 300-500 participants at each symposium including California, regional and national grower/shippers, retail and food service buyers, scientists, academic, produce industry representatives, and members of regulatory agencies. The project results are posted on the CPS website, disseminated at industry meetings and streamed through social media sources. Final results are also included in the following manner: CPS also works with scientists to publish results in scientific journals. Publication dates occur after the project is completed. Awards and abstracts can be found on the CPS website. The Center for Produce Safety’s Board of Directors and members of the Technical Committee distribute a series of information throughout the year on their websites, and through presentations, meetings and webinars.. The following websites provide additional resources on the final reports and symposium proceedings: Center for Produce Safety: https://cps.ucdavis.edu/resources.php Produce Marketing Association: http://pma.com Western Growers Association: http://www.wga.com/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? A technical committee, composing of scientists from academic institutions, government agencies and other selected entities, reviewed the proposals received and recommended to the PI funding of four 1-2 year research projects and one 6-month rapid response research project (listed in Products/Outputs) utilizing the 2010 Fresh Produce Safety (CA) grant funds. Following are some significant results of the individual projects: Project was to determine the chemical and biophysical characteristics of harvest binds and glove materials and their influence upon the bacterial survival and the bacterial transfer to tomatoes and sanitation efficiency upon plastic materials. The study showed that surface hydrophobicity, chemical spectra and surface topography were determined for new and worn bucket materials and glove materials. Abraded materials showed changes in contact angle hysteresis. Bin materials inoculated with a cocktail of Salmonella sp. were observed to have a 1.5?3 log reduction after two days of incubation with lower numbers recovered as the storage progressed over a 28 day study. The level of persistently surviving organisms varied based upon the inoculation method, with the presence of soil having the greater influence of bacterial recovery, with a 3?4 log higher recovery of “persister” cells. Bacterial transfer from gloves to tomatoes varied according to glove material type (vinyl, latex, nitrile and low density polyethylene) or tomato type (ripe grape tomatoes or green breaker tomatoes). Direct and indirect effects of the irrigation regime on post-harvest susceptibility of tomatoes and peppers to Salmonella were tested in three field seasons conducted in two locations in Florida (North and Central Florida). The most important discovery is that there were dramatic differences in susceptibility to Salmonella depending on the maturity stage of the picked fruit. Tomatoes at USDA ripening stage 6 were significantly more susceptible to Salmonella. Peppers were generally more susceptible to infections with Salmonella than tomatoes. The irrigation regime per se had only modest and not statistically significant effect on the susceptibility of the fruit to post-harvest infections with Salmonella. The presence of soft rots or lesions caused by Xanthomonas and/or Pseudomonas spp significantly promoted proliferation of Salmonella in fruit, but tomatoes without obvious signs of disease picked from plants showing signs of phytopathology elsewhere were not any more susceptible to Salmonella. The projects original hypothesis was that the use of contaminated clean or dirty cloths in the field during tomato harvest to eliminate debris effectively increased the risk of widespread contamination. Salmonella, from a wet or 1 h dry inoculum, is able to contaminate at least 25 tomatoes that are touched with a contaminated clean or dirty cloth. While no growth of Salmonella on tomato cartons was observed, populations inoculated onto dirty cartons and stored at 12°C for 7 days were significantly higher than those on new or used cartons, and those at all conditions stored at 25°C. It was thought that presence of debris on tomato cartons coupled with storage at temps below ambient, increases the survival of Salmonella on tomato cartons and that the re-use of dirty, contaminated packing containers would increase the risk of wide-spread tomato contamination. Under no conditions was the transfer of Salmonella to/from tomatoes from new cartons greater than that from used or dirty cartons; the transfer from dirty cartons was less than from clean or used cartons. More information was needed on where and how E. coli comes in contact with leafy greens in the field, how E. coli survives there, and how production factors influence pathogen survival. For the field trails a lower concentration of inoculum was applied: and only half the volume of inoculum was applied per square foot as compared with previous trails. Despite the decreases in inoculum concentration and volume, a very large amount of bacteria was applied to the trial crops, an amount exponentially greater than what would be anticipated in a likely irrigation water contamination event. There appears to have been more persistent in the environment than E. coli, with a greater number of samples testing positive for Salmonella than for E. coli across the experiment. Salmonella also appears to have thrived (or competitors that interfere with detection declined) as it adapted to the environment, as greater numbers of overall samples tested positive for Salmonella as time progressed in the sampling season. An emergency-response project to determine if free-roaming domestic dogs and coyotes in Arizona regions shed STEC and/or Salmonella enterica in their feces. We found marked differences in the occurrence of pathogenic E. coli, which was rarely cultured, compared with Salmonella, which was relatively common in feces from shelter dogs and coyotes. Two shiga toxin-negative E. coli O157 strains were cultured from coyote scat samples and none from dog fecal samples. The public health significance of finding shiga toxin-negative EHEC serogroups (O26, O103, O113, O145, O157) in these shelter dog and coyote populations is unknown, although a few carried other virulence determinants. In contrast, Salmonella was cultured from 9.2% of shelter dog feces (range 3.2-14.9%) and approximately 1 of every 3 coyote scat samples collected in or near produce fields.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M., Noel, J.T., McClelland, M., Creary, E., Alagely, A. 2011. High throughput screens reveal Salmonella behaviors required for persistence in tomatoes. Phytopathology 101 (6): S176
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Zaragoza, W., Teplitski, M. 2011. The effect of phase variation on the interactions of Salmonella enterica sv Typhimurium with tomatoes. Phytopathology 101 (6): S200
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Noel, J.T., Teplitski, M. 2011. Does pectolytic activity of phytopathogens enhance Salmonella proliferation in tomato fruits? Phytopathology 101 (6): S212-S213
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Valadez, A.M., K.R. Schneider, M.D. Danyluk. 2012. Growth, reduction and survival of bacteria on tomatoes. EDIS Publication FSHN 12-06 http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs190
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Valadez, A.M., K.R. Schneider, M.D. Danyluk. 2012. Outbreaks of foodborne disease associated with tomatoes. EDIS Publication FSHN 12-08 http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs192
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2013 Citation: Danyluk, M. Pathogen transfer associated with tomato specific packing operations. Ohio Produce Growers and Marketers Association Congress, Sandusky, OH, 2013.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Danyluk, M Pathogen transfer risks associated with specific tomato harvest and packing operations  Transfer from Tomato Cartons. Center for Produce Safety, Produce Research Symposium, Davis, CA, 2012.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Danyluk, M Risk Potential for Postharvest Transfer. Advanced topics in Microbial food Safety of Fresh Produce Workshop. UC Davis Alumni Center, Davis, CA and Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Wimauma, FL, 2011
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Teplitski, M. Irrigation regime, fruit water congestion and produce safety: parameter optimization to reduce susceptibility of tomatoes and peppers to post-harvest contamination, pathogen transfer and proliferation of Salmonella. Produce Research Symposium, Center for Produce Safety, University of California-Davis. June 27, 2012
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: George, A., Noel, J., Teplitski, M. 2012. The role of P. carotovorum in the increased proliferation of S. Typhimurium in tomatoes (Poster Presentation). 2012 Annual Education Conference, Florida Association for Food Protection, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL. May 9-11, 2012
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: Gause, E., Noel, J., Marvasi, M., George, A., Teplitski, M. 2012. Proliferation and performance of Salmonella in various cultivars of tomato (Poster Presentation). 2012 Annual Education Conference, Florida Association for Food Protection, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL. May 9-11, 2012
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: George, A., J.Noel, E. Gause, M. Teplitski. The role of Pectobacterium carotovorum in increased proliferation of Salmonella enterica Typhimurium in tomatoes. (Oral Presentation) 97th Annual Meeting of Southeastern Branch of American Society for Microbiology, Gainesville, FL. October 20-22, 2011
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: functional genomics analysis of Salmonella-tomato interactions. Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida. December 6, 2011
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: functional genomics analysis of Salmonella-tomato interactions. Co-sponsored by Plant Pathology Department and BTI, Cornell University. November 16, 2011. Ithaca, NY
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Does pectolytic activity of phytopathogens enhance Salmonella proliferation in tomato fruits? Joint Meeting American Phytopathological Society  International Society of Plant Protection, August 6-10, 2011. Honolulu, HI
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: using functional genomics to understand Salmonella- proliferation in tomato fruits? Joint Meeting American Phytopathological Society  International Society of Plant Protection, August 6-10, 2011. Honolulu, HI
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2011 Citation: Teplitski, M. Toward a safer harvest: using functional genomics to understand Salmonella-tomato interactions and promoter safer produce. Global Food Security and Plant Biosecurity Symposium. November 8-9, 2011. Baton Rouge, LA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2012 Citation: J. Cotter, J. Talbert, J. Goddard, W. Autio and L. McLandsborough. Influence of soil particles on the survival of Salmonella on plastic tomato harvest containers. IAFP National Meeting 2012. Technical Session 1, T1?04
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Danyluk, M.D. 2012. Pathogen transfer risks associated with specific tomato harvest and packing operations  Transfer from cloth during harvest. Center for Produce Safety, Produce Research Symposium, p. 23.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Friedrich, L, K. Schneider, and M. Danyluk. 2012. Transfer potential of Salmonella between cardboard cartons and tomatoes. International Association for Food Protection 2012 Annual Meeting Abstract P-34.


Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This USDA-supported project, administered through the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Center for Produce Safety (CPS) at the University of California, Davis, sponsored the 2010 CPS competitive grants program (2010-2013). The program funds work that advances scientific knowledge in sources and causes of foodborne illnesses. The review process in 2010 evaluated forty-four proposals submitted in March 2010 for coordinated evaluation by the CPS Technical Committee and UCANR. Four projects 2 year projects were approved for funding effective January 1, 2011. One 6-month project was approved for funding effective October 15, 2010. The 6-month project is an investigation of potential reservoirs of shiga toxin producing E. coli and Salmonella in produce production areas of Arizona and Mexico. This project, the first survey of foodborne pathogen occurrence in domestic and wild canids from a major desert production region in the United State and Mexico, was completed in April 2011. The findings will help inform the industry on potential reservoirs of zoonotic foodborne pathogens and good agricultural practices (relating to animal intrusions and pre- and post-harvest environmental assessments) for leafy greens and other produce to prevent microbial contamination from animal sources. The first 2-year project is studying pathogen transfer risks associated with specific tomato harvest and packing operations. The second project is an investigation of E. coli survival on contaminated crop residue. The third project is testing the survival, transfer and inactivation of Salmonella on plastic materials used in tomato harvest. The fourth project looks at irrigation regime, fruit water congestion and produce safety for parameter optimization to reduce susceptibility of tomatoes and peppers to post-harvest contamination, pathogen transfer and proliferation of Salmonella. PARTICIPANTS: Project Director Bonnie Fernandez-Fenaroli directed the Center for Produce Safety (CPS) research grants program in 2010. Principal investigators (PIs) and co-PIs of individual research project funded through this grant are: M. Danyluk, K. Schneider, M. Jay-Russell, S. Koike, T. Suslow, M. Cahn, L. McLandsborough, J. Goddard, W. Autio, M. Teplitski, J. Bartz, G. Hochmuth. Scientific and industry expertise in decision making for the grants program's research funding was provided by: B. Eisenberg, J. Gorny, B. Gravani, J. Hepner, D. Zagory, H. Giclas, C. Fischer, W. Ram, R. Mandrell, J. Rosen, M. Zischke, B. Gray, M. Doyle, S. Duda, D. McDonald, W. Sumner, T. Suslow, W. Daniels, G. Coaker, S. Stoltenberg, D. Gombas, M. Roberts, J. Lugg, M. Teplitski, P. Elliott, T. Mack, B. Krieger, G. Mudahar, M. Villaneva, J. Brennan, D. Carter, M. Willet, G. Nikolich, K. Kniel, P. Pierson, A. Wayadande, B. Buchanan, L. Jaykus, S. Luo, B. Ge. Support for financial and administration of the grants program: L. Maulhardt, M. Caruso. Partner organizations: University of Florida, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of California Cooperative Extension, Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, UC Davis. TARGET AUDIENCES: The fresh produce industry (growers, shippers, processors, distributors) is the direct audience for the research products. The information developed by supported projects also is intended to help the California Department of Food and Agriculture in its produce food safety programs. As science-based results are adopted by the produce industry, this research will benefit consumers. Research progress, final results, and/or research posters are presented at the annual Center for Produce Safety Produce Research Symposium. Final reports and posters are available on the CPS website. Publications resulting from this research are available on the CPS Global Research Database. www.cps.ucdavis.edu PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Research supported by this project will advance scientific knowledge in sources and causes of foodborne illnesses. Current grants show potential in developing good agricultural practices for implementation by producers to ensure a safer produce food supply.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period