date:Nov 20, 2012
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is said to be shuttering a program that is designed to assist in the surveillance of food-related outbreaks.
Agriculture Department officials told states that participate in the $4.5 million Microbiological Data Program (MDP) to stop pulling produce samples as part of an effort to shut down the program by the end of the year, Food Safety News reported last week.
Initiated in 2001 by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, the program collects informatio