Mission Statement:

The Programs’ Mission is to provide through scientific research, the means to ensure that the food supply is safe and secure for consumers and that food and feed meet foreign and domestic regulatory requirements. Food safety research seeks ways to assess, control or eliminate potentially harmful food contaminants, including both introduced and naturally occurring pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites, toxins and non-biological-based chemical contaminants, mycotoxins and plant toxins. Food safety is a global issue; thus the research program involves both national and international collaborations through formal and informal partnerships. Accomplishments and outcomes are utilized in national and international strategies delivering research results to regulatory agencies, commodity organizations, industry and consumers.

Vision Statement:

The Programs' Vision is to increase public health through the development of technologies which protect food from pathogens, toxins, and chemical contaminants during production, processing, and preparation thus increasing the safety of the food supply.  The research component of the Program is Foodborne Contaminants.  The Problem Statements are: Population Systems; Systems Biology; Technologies for the Detection and Characterization of Microbial Contaminants; Intervention and Control Strategies; Predictive Microbiology and Data Acquisition; and Chemical and Biological Contaminants: Detection Methodology, Toxicology and Toxinology.