CDFA Office of Farm to Fork receives $10 million state budget allocation, of which $8.5 million is for CDFA Farm to School Grant Pilot Project
California Farm to School and School Garden Conference is rescheduled from this summer to February 2021, and will be a digital event
California school districts utilize USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program
Eight California sites receive USDA Farm to School Grants
The California Farm to School Network is composed of farm to school practitioners and enthusiasts statewide. Click on the newsletter subscribe button to also receive these monthly updates that include information about grants, resources, research, webinars, events and news from the National Farm to School Network.The California Farm to School Program is part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F).
Dale Woods displays a congratulatory proclamation from CDFA Secretary Karen Ross in honor of his retirement after 35 years at the agency. Dale served in the Plant Health and Pest Protection Services Division and the Inspection Services Division (ISD), ending his career as Environmental Program Manager of the Fertilizing Materials Inspection Program and Organic Input Material Program.
Dale’s accomplishments at CDFA include assisting on Medfly and Mexican fruit fly detection and eradication projects, advising CDFA on all aspects of plant pathology as the Primary State Plant Pathologist, and helping to improve efficiency and effectiveness in weed biological control.
“I stayed with CDFA as long as I did – with three different programs – because I loved every one of them, and especially my knowledgeable and kind colleagues,” Dale said. “All my years at CDFA with its people were fun, challenging and fulfilling.”
(L-R) Bahar Nakhjavan, Nighat Sami Ahmed and Maryam Khosravifard.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Center for Analytical Chemistry (CAC) scientists Bahar Nakhjavan, Nighat Sami Ahmed and Maryam Khosravifard were recently published in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) academic journal Toxins special issue, Rapid Detection of Mycotoxin Contamination. Their article, “Development of an Improved Method of Sample Extraction and Quantitation of Multi-Mycotoxin in Feed by LC-MS/MS,” details their research of evaluating the three most popular sample preparation techniques for determination of mycotoxins, then selecting the best method and optimizing it.
Mycotoxins are the most common contaminants in agricultural crops produced by several species of mold and fungi. During growth, maturity, harvest, storage and processing of food and animal feed products, the fungus produces mycotoxins and other secondary metabolites. Mycotoxin-contaminated food and feed threaten human and animal health even at very low concentration.
Nakhjavan, Ahmed and Khosravifard work in CDFA’s CAC Environmental Safety Laboratory. Testing for mycotoxin in food and animal feed in the Regulatory Analysis Laboratory is part of their job of preventing contaminated food and feed from being consumed by humans, livestock and poultry in California. CAC uses state-of-the-art equipment and processes to test fruits, vegetables, nuts, animal feed, milk, water and air to ensure that pesticide and chemical levels are within the safety range established by national and international standards. Additional CAC staff who contributed to the work discussed in this published paper include Sally Henandez, Jose Salazar and Sarva Balachandra. They assisted with sample preparation for analysis and method review and approval.
Abstract of published paper
A multi-mycotoxin chromatographic method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantitation of aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZON), deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV), diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS), fumonisins (FB1, FB2 and FB3), T-2 toxin (T-2) and HT-2 toxin (HT-2) in feed. The three most popular sample preparation techniques for determination of mycotoxins were evaluated, and the method with highest recoveries was selected and optimized. This modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) approach was based on the extraction with acetonitrile, salting-out and cleanup with lipid removal. A reconstitution process in methanol/water was used to improve the detection and then the extracts were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. In this method, the recovery range is 70–100% for DON, DAS, FB1, FB2, FB3, HT-2, T-2, OTA, ZON, AFG1, AFG2, AFB1 and AFB2 and 55% for NIV in the spike range of 2–80 µg/kg. Method robustness was determined with acceptable performance standards in proficiency tests and validation experiments.
Nakhjavan, B., Ahmed, N.S., Khosravifard, M., “Development of an Improved Method of Sample Extraction and Quantitation of Multi-Mycotoxin in Feed by LC-MS/MS.” Toxins:Rapid Detection of Mycotoxin Contamination, 2020, 12, 462.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Division of Inspection Services Director Natalie Krout-Greenberg is among the featured speakers of a webinar discussion the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is hosting 11 a.m. to noon (PST) on Thursday, July 30, about its 2020 Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan.
FDA developed the 2020 Leafy Greens Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) Action Plan due to the reoccurring nature of E. coli outbreaks associated with leafy greens in recent years. The plan addresses actions FDA is taking in 2020 to advance work in three areas: prevention, response and addressing knowledge gaps. Designed to help foster a more urgent, collaborative and action-oriented approach, this plan requires collaboration between FDA and stakeholders in the public and private sectors, including industry and regulatory partners.
Featured speakers include FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response Frank Yiannas; FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition Deputy Director for Scientific Operations Dr. Steve Musser; CDFA Division of Inspection Services Director Natalie Krout-Greenberg; and United Fresh Produce Association Senior Vice President of Food Safety & Technology Dr. Jennifer McEntire.
Krout-Greenberg’s contribution to the discussion will be an update on CDFA’s work and partnerships to advance food safety as part of the 2020 Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan.
Visit FDA’s website to learn more about their 2020 Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan and register for the webinar. Registration closes at 9 a.m. (PST) Wednesday, July 29.
Welcome to a blog for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Inspection Services Division (ISD)!
At ISD, we inspect fruits, vegetables and nuts to ensure maturity, weight, packaging and labeling meet consumers’ quality expectations; we perform verification audits to ensure good handling and agricultural practices; we ensure fertilizer, animal feed and livestock drugs are safe and effective, as well as meet the quality and quantity guaranteed by the manufacturer; we conduct chemical analyses in support of food and environmental safety in a state-of-the-art chemistry laboratory; and we are committed to helping all Californians access healthy and nutrition California-grown food.
We invite you to visit this blog to learn how all our programs work to fulfill our mission of providing professional services that support and contribute to a safe, abundant and quality food supply; environmentally sound agricultural practices; and an equitable marketplace for California agriculture.
This is a blog for the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Inspection Services Division (ISD). Read here for the latest news about how ISD is providing Californians professional services that support and contribute to a safe, abundant and quality food supply; environmentally sound agricultural practices; and an equitable marketplace for California agriculture.
