Title: Pathogen Mitigation in Livestock and Red Meat Production

Objectives:

Develop and validate intervention strategies that reduce or eliminate foodborne pathogens at the animal and processing levels.

Determine and validate detection methods for foodborne pathogen colonization and contamination at various stages in the production of red meat.

Examine host pathogen interactions with an emphasis on host-specific determinants of pathogen colonization.

Title: Exploring Genomic Differences and Ecological Reservoirs to Control Foodborne Pathogens

Objectives:

Molecular characterization of the genomic and transcriptomic differences present in foodborne pathogens (particularly Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp.) to provide an understanding of genetic variation.

Survey ecological niches and reservoirs using a systems approach to identify sites for potential inverventions to reduce foodborne pathogens.

Identify how foodborne pathogens acquire, maintain and transmit genes for antimicrobial resistance and virulence within cattle from production to processing.

Title: Prevention of Pathogen Transmission from Animal Manure to Food, Water, and Environment

Objectives:

Identify the ecological and environmental factors, as well as critical points, that affect pathogen occurrence, survival, fate, and transport in cattle and swine production facilities, manure, and surrounding environments.

Develop and evaluate intervention strategies that reduce or eliminate the occurrence, persistence, or movement of foodborne pathogens among food animals, their environment, and potential surrounding production environments.

Title: Strategies to optimize carcass yield and meat quality of red meat animals

Objectives:

Develop and evaluate  non-invasive instrumentation to predict value determining characteristics of meat.

Develop strategies to optimize meat quality and composition traits of meat.