COLLEGE STATION — Two faculty members in the Department of Animal Science are part of an international team of researchers awarded a $1 million United States Department of Agriculture grant to study ways to protect the safety of fruits and vegetables.

Dr. Alex Castillo, associate professor, and Dr. Matt Taylor, assistant professor, both food microbiologists and part of the meat science section within the department, will work with fellow researchers to determine why E. coli and Salmonella can resist removal from the surface of fresh produce and to develop training for the produce industry and food inspectors.

The grant is for a project entitled, “Role of surface-related factors on contamination and survival of pathogens in fresh produce grown in Texas and Mexico.”

Drs. Castillo and Taylor will join other researchers to complete the project, including Dr. Elsa Murano, Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallas and Dr. Juan Anciso, all from Texas A&M Dr. Jorge Fonseca from the University of Arizona; and Dr. Miguel Martinez Tellez from the Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo.

For complete details on the study, please visit http://college.agrilife.org/news/7-2010-murano.php.

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