The searchable Research Projects Database provides more than 3800 records projects which include title, abstract, principal investigator, agency, start and end dates, funding amount and publications, if available, and more. The food safety research database is an ongoing effort to provide users with research information through the cooperation of U.S. and International government agencies as well as private and nongovernmental organizations.

On this page... Submiting Research Project Information NAL Agricultural Thesaurus Food Safety Categories used in the Database Fields used in the Database

Submiting Research Project Information

To submit food safety research project information for inclusion in the Food Safety Research Database, please contact FSRIO using the Ask a Quesion form. Review the the database fields for more detail. Please supply as much information as possible. Back to top

NAL Agricultural Thesaurus

The research projects are assigned key words based on the Agricultural Thesaurus's controlled vocabulary. At this time, the Agricultural Thesaurus is not integrated with the search. Users may need to visit the thesaurus to find the proper key word to use while searching the FSRIO database. Go to the Agricultural Thesaurus The following is an example of the controlled vocabulary and how it is used to index projects. Example: A user types in the Key Word box "E. coli". The search result is zero (0). Why? The Agricultural Thesaurus does not allow for the use of "E. coli". Instead, it suggests that "Escherichia coli" be used as the key word to index projects describing research in this particular food safety topic. Back to top

Food Safety Categories used in the Database

Food and Food Products - included is research on a variety of plant and animal food products, such as: functional foods, potentially hazardous foods, perishable foods, reconstituted foods, ready-to-eat foods, baked goods, genetically modified foods, and fried foods Food and Feed Composition and Characteristics - included is research on the chemical components of foods and feeds such as: nutrients, naturally occurring toxins, phytochemicals, antinutritional factors, and additives Food Quality Characteristics - included is research on the quality of foods that influence their safety, palatability and acceptability, such as: appearance, texture, flavor, aroma, shelf-life stability, food suitability, and microbiological quality Food and Feed Handling and Processing - included is research on the various aspects of processing, packaging, preservation, storage, and postharvest treatments in foods and feeds On-Farm Food Safety - included is research on the food safety issues concerned with the health of food animals and food crops before slaughter or harvest such as: good agricultural practices, preharvest treatment, and animal health Diseases and Poisonings- included is research on the foodborne illnesses and diet-related diseases that effect human health such as: viruses, prion diseases, bacterial infections, zoonotic diseases, mycotoxicoses, and food allergies Sanitation and Pathogen Control- included is research in the area of disease and quality control. Some of the terms included in this category include: HACCP, microbial detection, control methods, good manufacturing practices, and sanitation processes Contaminants and Contamination - included is research on various sources of contamination, categories of contaminants and types of contamination such as chemical contaminants and residues, microbial contamination, packaging materials migration, and cross contamination Government Policy and Regulations - included is research on food laws and regulations, food policy, consumer protection and public health issues, such as: grading, labeling, post-mortem inspections, Codex Alimentarius, Food and Drug Administration Food Code, product quality standards, and hygiene legislation Methodology - included is research on methods used to detect and identify pathogens, analyze foods, and monitor safety and quality, such as: analytical techniques, microbial detection, screening tests, monitoring, genetic techniques and protocols, control methods, and rapid methods Epidemiology - included is research on the factors influencing the occurrence and distribution of diseases in populations, such as: public health research, emerging diseases, disease risk factors, disease prevalence, disease incidence, disease control, disease transmission, environmental exposure, toxicity testing, molecular epidemiology, animal and human health, and disease vectors Education and Training - included is research on food safety-related education and training activities, risk communication, consumer information, health education, and food service training Pathogen Biology - included is research on biological mechanisms, host-pathogen interactions, and other factors that influence pathogen survival and virulence mechanisms of food pathogens, such as: microbial genetics, microbial ecology, predictive microbiology, and biological resistance Plant Science and Plant Products – included is research on food crops, plant breeding technologies and crop safety assessments, such as: transgenic plants, safety evaluation technologies, genetic techniques and protocols, protein identification technologies, and plant genetics Risk Assessment - included is research on the process of analyzing and identifying potential hazards and adverse effects by qualitative or quantitative means, as well as, the development of risk management and risk communication strategies, such as: risk mitigation strategies, exposure assessment, risk models, level of acceptable risk, zero-risk standards, risk management plans, and consumer risk perceptions Food Defense – included is research on methods and technologies to protect the food supply from intentional contamination, such as: sensor technologies, nanotechnology, diagnostic kits, rapid detection methods for toxic food agents, risk models, food traceability, and emergency preparedness Back to top

Fields used in the Database

Agency - the organization funding the research project; it can be a federal or state agency, educational institution, or private entity Title - research project title Number - project number as given by the funding agency Project type - describes the project funding such as a grant, cooperative agreement, private, or appropriated funds Start Date - research project expected start date End date - research project expected end date Funding - funding amount allocated to the research project Objective - purpose of the research project More Information - miscellaneous research project information, funding (actual dollar amount) or any other material that was obtained about the project State - location where research is conducted Annual Reports - project reports Cooperators - other organizations, agencies or institutions that are collaborating in the research effort Project PI - name of the principal investigator for the project or the designated contact PI Contact - contact information of the designated contact (content varies on certain agency projects)  PI Email - email address of the designated contact Publications - published articles related to the research project Back to top