YUMA, AZ - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released its multi-year environmental study to better understand the ecology of human pathogens in the environment in the Southwest agricultural region. One of the key research focuses was on how pathogens survive, move, and possibly contaminate produce prior to harvest.

In a release sent to ANUK, the Food Safety Desert Coalition express the following:

“The Southwest agricultural community would like to express our appreciation and admiration for the FDA-CFSAN research team. These top-notch scientists were central to the development and execution of this study which represents one of the largest environmental microbiology research efforts to date,” the association stated.

The preliminary results of this study stress the interconnectedness between people, animals, and environment.

While noteworthy progress has been made, there is still much to be done. Desert Food Safety Coalition members share a common commitment to public health through research, science, and continuous improvement to promote science-informed food safety decision making and practices.

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