A research team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has received a $1 million grant from the USDA to support a retail surveillance program monitoring meat products for resistant bacteria.
Researchers will collect poultry, meat and seafood samples twice monthly from selected Illinois retail outlets and test them for major foodborne bacteria. The long-term goal is to strengthen national antimicrobial resistance surveillance and help identify emerging public-health risks linked to resistant foodborne pathogens.
The project expands Illinois’ participation in the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System, a collaborative effort involving state and local health departments and government agencies.
