WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will contribute $5.5 million to help support new research on keeping fresh produce safe from deadly bacteria.
The department will help fund collaborative research in California into the origins of E. Coli 0157:H7, and to vulnerabilities in produce agriculture and the food supply chain.
"This research will help producers identify the sources of E. coli 0157:H7 and ways to avoid contamination," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in a statement.
The Centers for Disease Control identified 17,252 laboratory-confirmed cases of food poisoning in 2006 using a surveillance tool that studies 10 states, or about 15 percent of the U.S. population.
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