USDA Awards 36 Food Safety Grants, Including $6.7 Million for Antimicrobial Resistance, to Protect Consumers

April 1, 2015 — 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced funding awards totaling nearly $19 million, including more than $6.7 million for antimicrobial resistance strategies, to 36 grantees to ensure a safe and nutritious food supply and while maintaining American agricultural competitiveness. NIFA made the awards through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which is authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

“Increasing food safety continues to be a major focus for USDA, as it directly impacts the health and well-being of all Americans,” said Sonny Ramaswamy, NIFA director. “Funding provided to universities supports discoveries of new ways that we can prevent foodborne illnesses and increase the safety of our food production industry.”

NIFA made the awards through the AFRI Food Safety program to protect consumers from microbial and chemical contaminants that may occur in the food chain, from production to consumption. This year, AFRI’s Food Safety program is comprised of five sub-programs. The following projects have been selected for awards in each sub-program:

Enhancing Food Safety through Improved Processing Technologies

• University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Ark. $149,000
• Tennessee State University, Nashville, Tenn., $500,000
• University of Maine, Orono, Maine, $900,000
• University of California, Davis, Calif., $751,000
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., $700,000

Effective Mitigation Strategies for Antimicrobial Resistance

• Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo., $749,838
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $2,193,556
• University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., $2,250,000
• Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., $15,000
• Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, $16,500
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va., $750,000
• Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., $749,993

Identifying and Targeting Food Safety Needs

• Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill., $50,000

Improving Food Safety

• University of Connecticut, Mansfield, Conn., $49,744
• University of South Florida, Tampa, Fl., $499,972
• Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., $499,968
• University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, $499,516
• University of Maine, Orono, Maine, $150,000
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass., $499,567
• University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., $500,000
• University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nev., $150,000
• Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., $979,761
• North Dakota State University, Fargo, N.D., $172,339
• The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, $50,000
• University of California, Davis, Calif., $499,812

Improving Food Quality

• University of California, Davis, Calif., $498,356
• University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., $499,652
• University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, $248,408
• University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill., $861,714
• Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., $465,694
• Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, $420,685
• University of Maine, Orono, Maine, $46,293
• University of Maryland, Princess Anne, Md., $149,998
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass., $499,977
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., $489,528
• West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.V., $435,353

A complete list of this year’s project descriptions is available on the NIFA website.

The purpose of AFRI is to support research, education, and extension work by awarding grants that address key problems of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture. AFRI is NIFA's flagship competitive grant program authorized under the 2014 Farm Bill and supports work in six priority areas: 1) plant health and production and plant products; 2) animal health and production and animal products; 3) food safety, nutrition and health; 4) bioenergy, natural resources and environment; 5) agriculture systems and technology; and 6) agriculture economics and rural communities.

Through federal funding and leadership for research, education and extension programs, NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future. For more information, visit http://www.nifa.usda.gov.