$1 M Available for Produce Supply Chain Research

The University of California-Davis Center for Produce Safety will award $1 million in funds to focus on the “field to fork” research needs of the produce supply chain, from soil and water in fields to storage practices in retail and foodservice outlets.

This is a system-wide University of California effort that is being administered through the Center for Produce Safety. The center’s advisory board approved spending $500,000 to match the funds provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, resulting in the $1,000,000 program.

Proposal guidelines will be available July 1 and will be due to the Center by Aug. 31. Funds will be awarded in November. A copy of the complete proposal request may be obtained by contacting the Center’s Executive Director, Bonnie Fernandez. The Center is expected to announce an additional cooperative research agreement within the next few weeks.

Fernandez can be reached by phone at 530/757-5777; fax at 530/757-5717; and e-mail at bfernandez@cps.ucdavis.edu.

The Center for Produce Safety is an industry, academic and regulatory collaborative effort designed to directly address the most pressing issues of safety in the produce industry. Several major donors, including the Produce Marketing Association, Taylor Farms, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the University of California have pledged financial resources to this effort.

The center focuses on three objectives. First, it will serve as a clearinghouse for available research related to produce safety. This initiative is the first in the industry designed to capture all existing scientific data on food safety in one central repository. Second, the center will fund new scientific studies focused on developing solutions that mitigate risks associated with the nation's produce supply. Third, in addition to the investments in new research, the center will invest in science-based training and outreach programs.