(UC Davis: Davis, CA) -- A $1.3 million grant to develop a new food-safety training program for government and industry has been awarded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine.

The grant funds the first year of a five-year agreement and is renewable for a total of $6.5 million. The grant is focused on preventing food-borne illnesses, which each year sicken 48 million people in the United States and cause 3,000 deaths. It is part of an FDA competitive grants program that aims to build an integrated national food safety system, as mandated by the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011.

“UC Davis, with its deep expertise in veterinary medicine, agriculture, and human health, is ideally equipped to address the food-safety training needs of the United States,” says UC Davis Chancellor Linda P. B. Katehi. “We are proud to play this important role in safeguarding the nation’s food supply and the health of our citizens.”

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