{"id":2717,"date":"2026-03-06T22:49:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/?p=2717"},"modified":"2026-03-06T22:49:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T22:49:17","slug":"food-safety-fda-releases-initial-findings-of-5-year-ca-central-coast-environmental-study-highlighting-benefits-of-government-and-industry-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/2026\/03\/06\/food-safety-fda-releases-initial-findings-of-5-year-ca-central-coast-environmental-study-highlighting-benefits-of-government-and-industry-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Safety: FDA releases initial findings of 5-year CA Central Coast environmental study, highlighting benefits of government and industry collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
CDFA Inspection Services Division Director and California Agricultural Neighbors (CAN) co-lead Natalie Krout-Greenberg welcomes stakeholders to a recent California Longitudinal Study (CALS) industry briefing.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The California agriculture industry continues to demonstrate that science and partnerships are the cornerstones of advancing food safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2021, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross\u00a0called for industry participation to help solve recurring food safety incidents<\/a>. This action followed a number of leafy green outbreaks between 2018 and 2020 that were traced back to the California Central Coast growing region and linked to a unique isolated strain of\u00a0E. coli<\/em>\u00a0O157:H7. In response, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Western Center for Food Safety at UC Davis launched a five-year\u00a0California Longitudinal Study (CALS)<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in coordination with CDFA, highlighted as part of the FDA\u00a0Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan<\/a>. The CALS study aims to understand environmental factors that may pose risks to food safety in the growing environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 5, FDA released a\u00a0constituent update<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0reflecting progress and initial findings of this five-year research study. This is the largest, most comprehensive sampling study conducted in the Central Coast growing region to date. Outcomes of the research are consistent with historical scientific literature and offer insights that the current food safety regulations, metrics and practices are effective when implemented consistently and judiciously. Additionally, with this emerging body of environmental data, California agriculture will explore new, innovative ways to focus on prevention measures for continuous improvement of food safety.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
CDFA Secretary Karen Ross sets the stage for researchers\u2019 presentation of initial findings from the California Longitudinal Study (CALS).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cProduce safety is a shared commitment across the entire supply chain,\u201d said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. \u201cThe California Longitudinal Study is the result of our public and private sectors working together to advance science-based practices, improve transparency and reinforce consumer trust. It\u2019s all part of California agriculture\u2019s essential mission of feeding the United States and beyond safely, sustainably and reliably. Initial findings verify that the actions we\u2019re taking in the Central Coast region to enhance food safety are moving us in the right direction, and we are committed to maintaining this focus.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

California\u2019s produce industry continues to make significant strides through improvements in food safety risk education and on-farm practices, led by coordinated efforts among government, academic institutions and industry associations. Ongoing training, inspections and audits, data sharing and innovative technology help ensure that fresh fruits and vegetables reach consumers safely. Equally important are the ongoing partnerships forged through California Agricultural Neighbors (CAN)<\/a>, which began in 2021. CAN is a locally led, locally convened group that brings together diverse agricultural stakeholders across the Salinas Valley to explore and reinforce where food safety advancements, rooted in One Health principles, can be discussed, fostered and implemented. One Health<\/a> is a collaborative, multidisciplinary, systems-thinking approach that recognizes the health of people is interconnected to the health of animals, plants, and our shared environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs stewards of the land and the food system, members of CAN know the significant responsibility inherent in feeding a nation and recognize that food safety and food security are fundamentally interconnected,\u201d said Natalie Krout-Greenberg, director of CDFA\u2019s Inspection Services Division and co-lead of CAN. \u201cStakeholders engaged in CAN remain committed to advancing produce safety through continued collaboration, shared learning, adaptive practices, and sustained collective commitment<\/strong>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> to view this original CDFA Planting Seeds blog post. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The California agriculture industry continues to demonstrate that science and partnerships are the cornerstones of advancing food safety. In April 2021, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross\u00a0called for industry participation to help solve recurring food safety incidents. This action followed a number of … Continue reading <\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,12,469],"tags":[192,403,571,572,193],"class_list":["post-2717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspection-compliance","category-cdfa-inspection-services-division","category-food-safety","tag-california-agricultural-neighbors","tag-california-longitudinal-study","tag-cals","tag-fda","tag-food-safety"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2717"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2730,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2717\/revisions\/2730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}