1a. Objectives (from AD-416):
1: Determine the prevalence, levels, types, and locations of pathogens at various points from production through to consumption of raw, further processed, and/or RTE foods. 1.1. Determine the prevalence and levels of L. monoctyogenes, STEC, and Salmonella spp. in RTE foods at retail, as well as at abattoirs/processing plants. 1.2. Determine the relatedness of L. monoctyogenes, STEC, and Salmonella spp. recovered from foods using molecular typing methods such as PFGE and MLGT. 1.3. Assess perceptions, food safety attitudes, and self-reported behaviors related to observed food safety hazards by consumers who shop at grocery stores. 2: Develop, optimize, and validate processing technologies for eliminating pathogens. 2.1 - Determine the transfer and survival of STEC and Salmonella spp. in ground and tenderized (i.e., non-intact) red meat, pork, pet, and poultry products. 2.2 - Determine cook dwell times for ground poultry products using common consumer preparation methods such as cooking on gas or electric grills at internal instantaneous temperatures ranging from 100° to 160°F for lethality towards Salmonella and STEC and for consumer acceptability. 2.3 - Determine the effectiveness of food grade antimicrobials applied via electrostatic spray and Sprayed Lethality in Container (SLIC®) methods on pork offal and on chicken necks and frames for control of Salmonella and STEC. 2.4 - Validate fermentation and cooking of dry-fermented sausages for control of STEC, Salmonella, and other pathogens. 3: Develop and/or validate strategies to deliver antimicrobials to raw and packaged foods from production through to consumption to control L. monocytogenes, STEC, Salmonella spp., and other pathogens.

1b. Approach (from AD-416):
We will exploit the tools of microbiology, molecular biology, and food science to recover, characterize, and control food borne pathogens from production through to consumption for a variety of foods, with emphasis on specialty/ethnic and higher volume, higher risk foods. We will identify where pathogens enter the food supply, determine how they persist, and investigate biological, chemical, and physical interventions to eliminate or better manage them to improve public health. The target pathogens of greatest concern for this project are Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Trichinella spiralis, and Toxoplasma gondii. Targeted foods would include, but not be limited to, raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) meat, poultry, pet, and dairy foods, as well as raw and further processed non-intact meats. One focus of the proposed research is to identify sources and niches of the above mentioned pathogens in foods and food processing environments, as well as at retail and food service establishments, to gain insight on factors contributing to their survival and persistence. Multiple isolates recovered from each sample testing positive from such surveys will be retained for further characterization by phenotypic and genotypic (e.g., pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, PCR-based methods, and/or whole genome sequencing) methods to establish relatedness of isolates and their source and succession. As another focus of our research, efforts will be made to validate processes and interventions such as fermentation, high pressure processing, food grade chemicals, and heat, alone or in combination, to inhibit/remove undesirable bacteria from the food supply and to better manage their presence, populations, and/or survival during manufacture and storage of target foods/feed. The proposed research to find, characterize, and kill pathogens along the food chain continuum will expand our knowledge of the most prevalence/potent food borne pathogens and help us to elaborate better methods for controlling them in foods prior to human contact or consumption, thereby enhancing the safety of our global food supply.

3. Progress Report:
This new Project Plan was recently certified through the ARS Office of Scientific Quality Review (OSQR). For further details on current work see the 2016 annual report for project 8072-41420-015-00D.

4. Accomplishments

5. Significant Activities that Support Special Target Populations:
None.