The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life.
Through the Produce Safety Project at Georgetown University, Pew seeks to address a variety of threats to the nation’s food supply. These include preventing contamination of domestically produced fruits and vegetables, ensuring the safety of imported foods and improving the surveillance systems that alert consumers to food-borne illness outbreaks.
The Produce Safety Project seeks, among other immediate goals, the establishment by the Food and Drug Administration of mandatory and enforceable safety standards for domestic and imported fresh produce, from farm to fork.
Pew is no longer active in this line of work, but for more information: view the materials below, visit the Produce Safety Project's Web site, or visit the Produce Safety Project on PewHealth.org.
May 10, 2010 - This report, authored by Michael Batz and J. Glenn Morris, Jr., looks at European countries with strong food safety systems and makes a number of recommendations on how to improve those in the United States.
Read More
Oct 30, 2009 - A survey of state health departments regarding their capacity to track produce-related foodborne illnesses found that the response and investigation of outbreaks varies greatly and can lead to delays in public-health response.
Nov 17, 2008 - This report by the Produce Safety Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts at Georgetown University, represents the first extensive andin-depth review of the public record of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak of 2008.
Read: Summary View: Full Report (Adobe PDF)
Stay updated with Pew News Now! We invite you to sign up to receive our weekly e-mail newsletter.