New Mexico State University Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (U19)

Project Summary: OverallThe NMSU Food Safety Laboratory (FSL) will work towards achieving FERN objectives by ensuring thattrained staff are able to participate in FERN activities such as proficiency tests, evaluation of newmethodologies and analysis of surveillance and emergency outbreak samples.The NMSU FSL proposes to improve our current Quality Management System by hiring a qualitymanager to work with the NMSU FSL director, staff and APHL to achieve and maintain ISO 17025accreditation.The NMSU FSL proposes to partner with the New Mexico Indian Health Services and the New MexicoGaming Commission to collect food samples from New Mexico tribal nations. Until the IHS agreement isin place, NMSU FSL could collect 200 papaya sample and 300 frozen tropical fruit samples and analyzethem for Salmonella enterica, Listeria monocytogenes and STEC until we establish our new samplecollection arrangement.The NMSU FSL proposes to sequence a mixture of 400 or more pathogens and share the results (andmetadata) in real-time to the National Center for Biotechnology Information national database forenteric pathogen genomes.The NMSU FSL could better serve the FDA FERN if we could conduct additional analyses. The BAMmolecular detection procedure for Cyclospora cayetanensis is one method that we could establish in ourlaboratory to provide testing support to the FDA in the event of a foodborne disease outbreak.The NMSU FSL plans to collaborate with the New Mexico Indian Health Services to conduct samplingwithin the NM Tribal Nations? food supply.The NMSU FSL proposes to participate in small?scale method development/validation as a part of theLFFM. We are proposing to participate in the MLV for qPCR method for Salmonella.