Expanding Ohio’s Food Safety Testing to Support a National System
Official title: Expanding Ohio's Testing Capability and Capacity to Support a National Integrated Food Safety System
Funded at Ohio State Department of Agriculture · NIH-11418718 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant helps Ohio improve lab testing for food safety so diseases and contaminants can be found faster across the nation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ohio State Department of Agriculture NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Reynoldsburg, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $865,000 |
| NIH project number | 5U19FD008602-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11418718 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Not applicable in the traditional patient sense; the work targets food safety and public health, which can benefit patients indirectly through safer foods.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not consuming or handling foods covered by the program may see limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
The Ohio Department of Agriculture will strengthen its lab capabilities to run chemical and microbiological tests on food, coordinating with federal partners to support a national food safety network. They will participate in FDA-led testing, proficiency exercises, and rapid response activities for suspected threats to the food supply. The project includes maintaining ready-to-use supplies and personnel, and handling up to 7,000 samples over five years, including routine screening for Hepatitis A and norovirus and adding non-targeted toxin testing. Ohio CPL and ADDL will also support the FDA’s GenomeTrakr network and other pathogen surveillance efforts to improve outbreak detection.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to quicker detection of foodborne threats and safer food for people and animals nationwide.
How similar studies have gone: This approach builds on established national food safety surveillance and testing networks with proven utility in early threat detection.
Where this research is happening
-
Ohio State Department of Agriculture
Reynoldsburg, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kong, Jason Siu — Ohio State Department of Agriculture
- Study coordinator: Kong, Jason Siu
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.