The Sustainable Alliance for Food EcoSystems – Produce and Animal Protein Industries Working Together to Address Contamination in the Production Environment

In agricultural communities across the United States, animal protein and produce production operations co-exist within organizations or as neighbors. Both the animal protein and produce production industries operate under government food safety regulations and are supported by government and academic food safety research. However, except for a few select studies evaluating pathogen transfer between animal protein and produce growing operations, the two agricultural communities have typically pursued their food safety research efforts independently. Recently the two industries have joined forces in a new effort, the Sustainable Alliance for Food EcoSystems, which held its inaugural meeting October 1 – 2, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. The meeting brought together industry and academic subject matter experts from U.S. agricultural companies, organizations, universities, and research centers in a think tank setting to focus on the challenges of zoonotic pathogen contamination stemming from the co-existence of produce and animal protein production operations. Following the concept of the One Health approach to food safety, SAFE’s vision is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration to explore the interconnection of people, animals, and our environment with endeavors to find optimal outcomes, namely, the development of feasible mitigation strategies for reducing zoonotic pathogen contamination and/or transfer and preventing foodborne illnesses.