Tennessee food safety and outbreak response program
Official title: RFA-EH-20-001: Environmental Health Specialist Network (EHS-Net) - Practice Based Research to Improve Food Safety
Funded at Tennessee State Department of Health · NIH-11416074 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project helps Tennessee health teams prevent foodborne illness by improving how outbreaks are tracked, reported, and prevented at restaurants and markets.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Tennessee State Department of Health NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2020 |
| Project end | September 29, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $192,587 |
| NIH project number | 6U01EH001366-05M001 |
| Project ID | NIH-11416074 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People in Tennessee who have experienced foodborne illness or who work in food service or at farmers' markets are the most likely candidates to be involved or affected.
✕Less likely to help
People who live outside Tennessee or whose health issues are unrelated to foodborne infections are unlikely to see direct benefits from this program.
What this research studies
From your perspective, health staff across Tennessee will work together to respond faster when people get sick from food and to teach safe food handling to restaurants, farmers' markets, and food facilities. The team will collect and share environmental and outbreak information using the National Environmental Assessment Reporting System (NEARS). The program funds full-time environmental health staff who join epidemiologists for training, outbreak investigations, and multi-site food-safety projects. One project focuses on raw dairy at farmers' markets alongside other efforts to spot and stop sources of contamination.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce foodborne illnesses in Tennessee by speeding response to outbreaks and spreading safer food practices.
How similar studies have gone: EHS-Net and related public health programs have previously helped identify outbreak sources and improve food-safety practices, so this builds on established approaches.
Where this research is happening
-
Tennessee State Department of Health
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dunn, John Robert — Tennessee State Department of Health
- Study coordinator: Dunn, John Robert
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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.