Download CE Specialist in Food Crop Safety

Position Title: UCCE Specialist - Food Crop Safety
Position Description: The successful candidate will lead an integrated, statewide Extension and
Research program that improves the safety of plant-based food production in California and
contributes to the knowledge on food safety and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Food safety may be addressed from the perspective of contamination by microorganisms and/or
microbial-produced toxins, and may span the production chain from pre-harvest (growing and
harvesting conditions) to post-harvest (handling in packing houses, transit, and marketing
displays). The position will be filled by an individual holding a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology,
microbiology, microbial ecology, plant sciences, horticulture, molecular genetics or a closely
related field. Experience with food borne human pathogens or food crop production safety is
preferred.
Justification: The proposed position is at the core of the initiative to maintain a safe and secure
food supply. FSMA is being implemented and research and extension needs to be conducted to
help commodity groups, growers, cooperatives (e.g., SunKist), packinghouses, shippers
throughout the state to meet the stringent requirements of food safety audits. Increasing the
supply of fresh produce is a key component to improving the overall health of all Californians.
As demand for nutritional, fresh produce increases, it is essential to ensure that this produce is
consistently safe, so that California agriculture is considered a reliable source for food.
Moreover, increased demand for local, organic and home-grown produce creates challenges in
maintaining the safe production of food. In addition to traditionally marketed, high-quality
produce, there is also heightened interest in reducing waste in the food production chain by, for
example, marketing lower quality produce previously considered unmarketable.
Mitigating food borne pathogens and microbial-produced toxins is critical to improving the value
of food produced in California, both for domestic markets and for export abroad. For example,
the stringent limits the European Union places on aflatoxin contamination present a persistent
challenge for California agriculture. Responding to demands for ever-safer food is an important
part of maintaining the sustainability of California agricultural industries. The proposed position
will leverage these trends to ensure that lower quality produce is safe from food borne pathogens
or toxins and therefore, expands the overall supply of nutritious food and improves the
sustainability of California agriculture.
This position supports the UC Riverside AES/CE Mission and addresses several UC ANR
Strategic Vision 2025 Initiatives, including “Enhance Competitive, Sustainable Food Systems”,
“Increase Science Literacy in Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Nutrition”, “Enhance the
Health of Californians and California’s Agricultural Economy” and “Ensure Safe and Secure
Food Supplies.” This position also aligns with the “From Genomics to Harvest” area in the UCR
2020 Strategic Plan.
Extension: These activities will focus on issues in food safety, including identifying
contaminants or sources of food spoilage in the food chain, tracing sources of contamination, and
reducing contamination. This will include, for example, the implementation of good agricultural
practices, along with food safety programs in a diverse range of production systems.
Stakeholders targeted by extension activities encompass all sources in the food chain, including
grower, processors, distributors, etc.
Research: Questions to address in this area include: How to best detect pathogens? What is the
source of contamination? How can water sources with bacterial or other types of contamination
be disinfected or otherwise purified? How can solutions be adapted to both conventional (highinput and low-input) and organic growers? Publication outlets for research may include Food
Microbiology, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Journal of Food Protection, Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry, California Agriculture, and others.
ANR Network: While a program exists at UC-Davis (e.g., Trevor Suslow), this is inadequate to
cover the entire state, particularly central valley and coastal agriculture. Interactions with Suslow
are expected, along with CE personnel in Riverside County (Jose Aguiar, Carmen Gispert, Tom
Shea), Imperial County (Donna Henderson, Khaled Bali), Central Coastal (Ventura-Ben Faber,
San Luis Obispo-Surendra Dara, Monterey-Steve Koike), and the Central Valley (Visalia-Greg
Douhan). In addition, interactions are expected with other faculty in the home and other
departments at UC-Riverside, including Ansel Hsiao who studies bacterial pathogens and the
human gut microbiome; Alex Putman who studies strawberry and vegetable diseases; Jim
Adaskaveg who works on postharvest disease management and Mary Lu Arpaia who works on
subtropical crops. ANR is in need of Food Safety expertise to help commodities to meet the
needs of the agricultural industry regarding extension and research to support the Food Safety
Modernization Act (FSMA).
Support: This position will be located at KARE but supported by the UC-Riverside campus.
The department will provide laboratory, greenhouse, and office space within its facilities on the
UC-Riverside campus, as well as administrative support. The College of Natural and
Agricultural Sciences at UC Riverside will supply a portion of the start-up funds and funds for
travel. Kearney Agriculture Research and Extension (KARE) Center will provide laboratory and
administrative support. Supporting units will include Cooperative Extension personnel from the
inland empire (including Riverside, Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, San Bernardino, and
Imperial Co.), the central valley (Kern, Tulare, Fresno, Madera Stanislaus, San Joaquin,
Sacramento), and coastal counties (Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey);
statewide programs such as the UC Agricultural Issues Center, the UC IPM program and the UC
Small Farms program; as well as state agencies, including the CDFA.
Other support: Support is expected from commodity groups, the food processing industry,
statewide programs including CDFA, and federal regional projects.
Location: UC KARE is centrally situated to support agricultural production regions such as the
southern (from Fresno to Kern County) and northern central (Madera to Sacramento Counties)
areas in the San Joaquin Valley and the central coastal areas (from Ventura to Santa Cruz
Counties). With a connection to UC Riverside, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, and Los
Angeles Counties can be included. These are valuable production areas for grapes, berries, tree
fruits and nuts, subtropical crops (citrus, avocado, etc.), and a variety of vegetables (e.g., lettuce,
peppers, broccoli, melons, carrots etc.). Los Angeles has major export/import ports where food
safety may be a concern.
Developed and Proposed by: The faculty of the Department of Plant Pathology and
Microbiology at UC Riverside developed and voted to approve this position.