Cookbooks Give Readers (Mostly) Bad Advice On Food Safety
 A recent study finds that best-selling cookbooks offer readers little useful advice about reducing food-safety risks, and that much of the advice they do provide is inaccurate and not based on sound science. “Cookbooks aren’t widely viewed as a primary source of food-safety information, but cookbook sales are strong and they’re intended to be instructional,” said Ben Chapman, senior author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of agricultural and human sciences at North Carolina State University.
“Cookbooks tell people how to cook, so we wanted to see if cookbooks were providing any food-safety information related to cooking meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs, and whether they were telling people to cook in a way that could affect the risk of contracting foodborne illness,” Chapman said.
The paper, “Evaluating food safety risk messages in popular cookbooks,” is published in British Food Journal. The paper was coauthored by Ashley Chaifetz, a former Ph.D. student in Chapman’s group at NC State who now works for the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. The work was supported by NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative program under grant number 2012-68003-30155.
Photo credit: Damian Siwiaszezyk.
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NIFA News
 National 4-H Conference Delegates Brief Agriculture Committee Members on the Importance of Agriculture in the United States
The House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research held a briefing for members featuring National 4-H Conference Delegates. Thirteen young leaders attending the National 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C., delivered a presentation called "The Importance of Agriculture in the United States."
"Agriculture and youth organizations like 4-H are key to developing leaders in our rural and urban communities. It is exciting for the Agriculture Committee to hear about their passion for addressing some of the challenges the agricultural industry is facing, and I find it very important to highlight the contributions youth around the country are making to this great industry," said Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway.
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 New National Research Initiative Aims to Improve Cover Crops
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation launched a national cover crop initiative recently during a special press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The $6.6 million research initiative, made possible by a $2.2 million grant from FFAR, will promote soil health through the development and adoption of new cover crops across the United States.
“The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research is committed to improving the nation’s soil health, which is essential to ensuring a productive and sustainable future for food and agriculture,” said Dr. Sally Rockey, executive director of FFAR. “We look forward to working with the Noble Foundation and a talented team of researchers to develop better-than-ever, soil health-promoting cover crops that will contribute to thriving farms across the United States.”
The initiative will bring together many collaborators, including representatives from the seed industry, the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), three land grant universities, and an existing Legume Cover Crop Breeding Team, comprising another six land-grant universities, ARS sites, and a producer network.
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Events
NIFA Webinars for Crop Protection and Pest Management Programs
NIFA is hosting two webinars for interested applicants concerning the Fiscal Year 2017 Request for Applications for the Crop Protection and Pest
Management Program. More information on this funding opportunity is on NIFA’s
website.
Applied Research and Development Program Area Webinar
This first webinar will
address the program requirements and application procedures for the Applied
Research and Development Program Area (ARDP). The webinar will be held on April
5 at 1 p.m. EDT.
Access the Adobe
Connect Training:
- Enter
Meeting Room as a guest by entering your first and last name in the space
provided. The process should require no software downloads, but you will
need to have Flash installed on your computer.
- To
access the Phone Connection:
- Number: 1-888-844-9904
- Access Code: 7982356
- Please
note that language in the Request for Applications was added for ARDP,
page 30, “Response to Previous Review”.
Extension Implementation Program (EIP) Area Webinar
This second webinar will address the program requirements and application procedures for EIP. The webinar is April 12 at 1 p.m. EDT.
Access the Adobe Connect Training:
- Enter Meeting Room as a guest by entering your first and last name in the space provided. The process should require no software downloads, but you will need to have Flash installed on your computer.
- To access the Phone Connection:
- Number: 1-888-844-9904
- Access Code: 7982356
Contact Kathy Kimble-Day for information on the webinars. You may also reach her by phone: 202-401-4420
Taking Stock of Organic Research Investments Webinar
Join eOrganic for a webinar about a report by the Organic Farming Research Foundation on USDA organic research investments. The webinar takes place on April 6 at 2 p.m., EDT. It is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. This webinar will present the findings from the report by the Organic Farming Research Foundation: Taking Stock: Analyzing and Reporting Organic Research Investments: 2002-2014. This report provides information on the progress USDA funded organic research projects have made in addressing critical research needs.
AFRI FASE & EPSCoR Program Orientation Webinar
The Agriculture
and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) -- Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement
(FASE) and Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Team
is presenting a webinar on April 12 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., EDT, on how the AFRI FASE & EPSCoR Program works and how it is implemented at NIFA. This webinar will serve
as an orientation for those new to the program and an update for returning
applicants. There will be a brief question and answer session. To join the webinar go to Adobe Connect. Audio by phone (please mute your phones until Q/A Session begins.)
Conference Number: 888-844-9904
Participant Code: 1466552
Webinar Agenda:
1:30 p.m. Webinar Opens
2 p.m. Presentation
3 p.m. Question/Answer Session
3:30 p.m. Webinar Ends
You may want to check out a quick overview and test your computer connections if you have never attended an Adobe Connect session. Contact Sharon Lumpkin for more information.
 2017 National Health Outreach Conference
The 2017 National Health Outreach Conference planning team invites you to Annapolis, Maryland on May 2-4. The conference theme, "Navigating the World of Health: A Sea of Opportunity" will set the stage as they explore new ideas, best practices, promising research, and innovative educational outreach.
This conference seeks to provide a multidisciplinary and ecological view of health and wellness research, practice, and outreach education.The conference will offer a combination of workshops, seminars, research updates, theoretical perspectives, and thought-provoking dialogue to engage participants in the dynamic and complex world of health.
Check out the concurrent sessions and speakers that will be available. Take a look at the pre-conference sessions too. Early Bird registration ends,
April 1.
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Minor
Crop Pest Management Program Interregional Research Project #4 (IR-4)
The purpose of the IR-4 program is to enable the crop protection industry to
provide safe, effective, and economical crop protection products for growers
and consumers of minor/specialty crops. The crop protection industry cannot
justify the costs associated with the research and development, registration,
production, and marketing of crop protection products for minor/specialty crops
due to the smaller market base and limited sales potential. The IR-4 program
provides the assistance needed to ensure that new and more effective crop
protection products are developed and made available to minor/specialty crop
producers. These efforts require effective collaborations among federal agencies,
the crop protection industry, and land-grant colleges and universities.
Request for Applications
Apply for Grant
Closing
Date: May 1, 2017
Funding
Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-SRGP-006284
Estimated
Total Program Funding: $11,000,000
Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification Program
Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification (YFSEC) Program for Fiscal Year 2017 supports national efforts to deliver timely, pertinent, and appropriate farm safety education to youth seeking employment or already employed in agricultural production.
Request for Applications
Apply for Grant
Closing Date: May 10, 2017
Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-SLBCD-006287
Estimated Total Program Funding: $300,000
Agriculture
and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) - Food Safety Challenge Area
This AFRI Challenge Area promotes and enhances the scientific discipline of
food safety, with an overall aim of protecting consumers from microbial and
chemical contaminants that may occur during all stages of the food chain, from
production to consumption. This requires an understanding of the interdependencies
of human, animal, and ecosystem health as it pertains to foodborne pathogens.
The long-term outcome for this program is to support the development and
deployment of science-based knowledge to improve the safety and nutritional
quality of food without sacrificing flavor, acceptability, and affordability.
In order to achieve this outcome, this program will support multifunction
Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension Projects, and Food and
Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants that address the Program Area
Priority, Effective Mitigation Strategies for Antimicrobial Resistance.
Request for Applications
Apply for Grant
Closing
Date: June 21, 2017
Funding
Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-AFRI-006286
Estimated
Total Program Funding: $11,000,000
Agriculture
and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) - Water for Food Production Systems Challenge Area
This AFRI Challenge Area focuses on multidisciplinary systems approaches,
which integrate new technologies and strategic management that solve water
availability and quality challenges in food production systems. The long-term
goal of this program is to sustain increased agricultural productivity and
availability of safe and nutritious food while significantly reducing water use
and preserving water quality. The projects are expected to transform how
abundant, safe, and nutritious food is produced, processed, distributed, and
consumed within the limits of available water from traditional and
non-traditional sources.
Request for Applications
Apply for Grant
Closing
Date: August 2, 2017
Other
Due Date: Letter of Intent - May 17, 2017
Funding
Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-AFRI-006304
Estimated
Total Program Funding: $34,000,000
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