RTI International - News Release - 7.1.2008
RTI International Applies Science to Help FDA Assess Food Safety Risks
download image
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- RTI International has been awarded a contract to assist the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in evaluating opportunities to prevent contamination and exposure throughout the life cycle of a food product, specifically focusing on microbial and chemical hazards at various stages of the food supply system.
Under terms of a five-year contract expected to reach more than $5 million, RTI researchers will develop the models, methods, and databases that FDA will rely on to rank food-related threats to public health, identify research priorities, and select optimal strategies to achieve the greatest reduction in health risks associated with consuming fresh produce and shellfish.
"Recent disease outbreaks associated with contamination of green onions, lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes underscore the significant challenges facing the FDA," said Steve Beaulieu, RTI's program manager for the project. "Controlling contamination of these products requires the FDA to rigorously evaluate the food supply system beginning at the farm, continuing through the food production and distribution system, and finally to the table of U.S. consumers.
"The models that RTI develops will provide FDA with a new set of tools with which to conduct these evaluations," said Amir Mokhtari, Ph.D., and lead modeler for this project.
Lee-Ann Jaykus, Ph.D., a leader in food safety research at North Carolina State University will serve as a senior advisor on the program as part of a one-year sabbatical with RTI. Jaykus has nearly 20 years of experience working in food microbiology and food safety, and is best recognized for her work with the food-borne viruses, hepatitis A virus and the noroviruses.
Her service on a number of high-profile food safety committees and projects -- most recently with the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology -- has distinguished her as a nationally recognized expert on the role of microbiological risk assessment in food safety decision-making.