FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Amy Philpott, aphilpott@unitedfresh.org, 202 303 3425

Washington D.C. - United Fresh Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Technology Dr. David Gombas presented the final report of the International Lettuce and Leafy Greens Food Safety Research Conference today to the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) research panel.

The conference report prioritized lettuce and leafy greens research needs into three major areas:

· Intervention Strategies, Technologies and Validation of Standards for Field Operations;

· Assessment of Risk and Risk Reduction; and,

· Microbial Ecology of Pathogens.

These priorities were developed by more than 70 scientists from academia, industry and government who took part in the International Lettuce and Leafy Greens Food Safety Research Conference, sponsored by the United Fresh Research & Education Foundation in September 2007.

Dr. Gombas presented the conference report and research priorities at the USDA-CSREES Plant and Pest Biology Stakeholders’ Workshop. CSREES is the primary federal funding agency for food safety research, and is responsible for overseeing most university-based food safety research.

“This was great opportunity to share the research objectives identified at our conference,” said Dr. Gombas. “We look forward to working with CSREES and fresh produce researchers to ensure that research is solution-driven and can be effectively applied to field operations.”

The first International Lettuce and Leafy Greens Food Safety Research Conference, comprised of invited academic scientists, state and federal regulators, and industry representatives, U.S. and international, was charged to develop a prioritized list of research needs to address the issue of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and other human pathogens that can potentially come in contact with lettuce and leafy greens. The major goals were to identify solution-driven research objectives, to build consensus on needs and to build the working relationships and collaborative partnerships necessary to achieve success.

For additional information about the Conference and its proceedings, please contact Dr. David Gombas, United Fresh Produce Association, 202-303-3411, dgombas@unitedfresh.org.