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This study investigates college students' current food safety knowledge and food-handling perceptions and utilized an online survey which designed based on previous studies as method. The questionnaire measured respondents' food safety knowledge and perception, and were divided into knowledge, attitudes and perception categories. The results show that college students significantly lacked in basic food safety knowledge as well as food handling skills and implies a high need to develop enhanced food safety resources for college students, especially on topics related to cross-contamination prevention, correct food preparation procedures, time and temperature control, and awareness of pathogens that cause foodborne illness.

The overarching goal of this study was to assess the microbiological profile of hydroponically grown Romaine lettuce and in-soil Romaine lettuce (organic and conventional). Thirty-six samples of hydroponic lettuce, seventy-two samples organic lettuce (thirty-six bagged lettuce and thirty-six non-bagged lettuce), and thirty-six conventionally grown lettuce was purchased from retail stores. A portion of each sample was analyzed for aerobic bacteria (APC), coliforms and E. coli, and yeasts and molds (YM). Another portion of each sample was enriched for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus, and confirmed with RT-PCR. No statistical differences were found in the microbial profile (P > 0.05) between the different farming practices. The APC, coliforms, E. coli, and YM counts were similar across bagged samples. The results demonstrated that APC and E. coli were significantly higher (P

The overarching goal of this study was to design a comprehensive and accessible database of agricultural water testing laboratories located in Texas that can help growers comply with FSMA's Produce Safety Rule agricultural water requirements. The database was designed to include the laboratory name, location, specific water testing abilities, website, contact information, and days of the week when the laboratory was accessible to growers. Data were recorded from 72 laboratories in Texas. Following this, a focus group was conducted with eighteen growers in a statewide produce conference to evaluate the efficacy of this resource. The respondents were provided with a brief description of the project and asked 10 open-ended questions. The responses were collected and analyzed. The focus group data demonstrated that 94% of participants found that the database contained information that would be useful, usable, and beneficial to them. Only 25% of the participants claimed to be familiar with water testing and had limited prior knowledge regarding where to test agricultural water. Increased outreach is critical to ensure that growers are aware of agricultural testing requirements and have an effective support system to find laboratories close to their farms.