The Center for Produce Safety announced has 11 new research awards valued at a little over $2.7 million.

The awards are for research projects directed at answering critical questions in specific areas of food safety practices. Among this year's topics - Cyclospora prevalence, Listeria intervention, and new technologies. 

"If you take a step back and look at the Center for Produce Safety's latest grant recipients, their project topics address the most pressing relevant produce food safety issues. Right now you hear a lot about Cyclospora causing issues with fresh produce, or about how transference of pathogens in water is initiating problems in general in our industry," says Dave Corsi, vice president of produce and floral at Wegmans Food Markets and chair for the CPS Board of Directors. "We congratulate the 2019 award recipients and feel encouraged by their focus on addressing these relevant issues. Fund the Science is the main thrust behind CPS' mission, which will eventually assist the funded scientists to Find Solutions to food safety issues and then, finally, to Fuel Change in all parts of the supply chain."

Xiangyu Deng of the University of Georgia has one of the funded research projects: Possibility, duration, and molecular predictors of sanitizer tolerance in Listeria monocytogenes

Paul Dawson, PhD, Clemson University, is a first-time award recipient for his project,

Verification and validation of environmental monitoring programs for biofilm control in the packing house.