FDA funds food-safety program at UC-Davis

DAVIS, CALIF. — A $1.3 million grant to develop a new food-safety training program for government and industry has been awarded to the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The grant funds the first year of a five-year agreement and is renewable for up to $6.5 million. It is part of an FDA competitive grants program that aims to build an integrated national food-safety system, as mandated by the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.

The goal of the project is to develop a National Food Safety Curriculum that can be used to train food-industry and agency personnel at all levels, including inspectors, managers and leaders. The project also will create and improve course content to meet or exceed a national accreditation standard, with a focus on specialty produce crops, dairy and laboratory operations.