$100,000 gift will help advance food safety for consumers
Zoetis Inc., formerly the animal health business unit of Pfizer, today
announced a gift of $100,000 for Salmonella research to Texas
Tech University, College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources,
Department of Animal and Food Sciences. The research gift will help
provide resources to better understand and describe the ecology of Salmonella
in cattle populations and to discover and evaluate tools that might
ultimately result in a safer food supply.
“We believe food-safety research is critical to the current and future
health of the cattle industry,” said Rob Kelly, vice president, U.S.
Cattle and Equine Business Unit at Zoetis. “Consumers expect the food
they serve their families to be wholesome and safe, and they are
counting on everyone in the industry to work together to deliver safe
food to families around the world.”
Establishing partnerships with top research institutions such as Texas
Tech University is essential to managing foodborne pathogens like Salmonella
during the preharvest stage, Kelly added.
“Salmonella continues to threaten human health. With new
understandings of how it interacts with livestock populations, we can
develop better tools that can lead to meaningful improvements in food
safety,” said Guy Loneragan, BVSc, PhD, epidemiologist and professor of
food safety and public health at Texas Tech University. “This sort of
industry collaboration is vital to the discovery and development of
tools to keep food safe, and the research gift from Zoetis will greatly
support and enhance our activities to discover and deliver these
solutions.”
Because the Zoetis gift is allocated to research and discovery in the
area of Salmonella and not tied to a specific project or
endowment, it has a lot of potential, Dr. Loneragan added.
“Anticipating every outcome is difficult when working with a foodborne
pathogen like Salmonella in cattle,” Dr. Loneragan said. “The
flexibility of this research gift ensures that we can pursue new
developments as they arise.”
Michelle Haven, DVM, PhD, senior vice president, corporate development,
alliances and solutions at Zoetis, said that research focused in the
cattle industry at large will not only help provide important solutions
in Salmonella research but also offer opportunities for education
and training for graduate students at Texas Tech University.
“Texas Tech University has a talented and enthusiastic research team,
including microbiologists, molecular biologists, epidemiologists, meat
scientists, animal scientists and those focusing on education,” she
continued. “We’re glad to help bring everyone together to identify these
complex problems and solutions.”
This research gift really reflects an ongoing and growing relationship
between Zoetis and Texas Tech University that is built on success and
trust, Dr. Loneragan added.
“Without industry partnerships such as this, our ability to achieve
food-safety research goals and drive innovation in the area of foodborne
pathogens is greatly diminished,” Dr. Loneragan said. “This relationship
with Zoetis is helping us to better understand Salmonella and
will provide support to help deliver tools to producers to improve the
health of cattle herds and the safety of the food supply.”
About Zoetis
Zoetis (zō-EH-tis) is the leading animal health company, dedicated to
supporting customers and businesses focused on raising and caring for
livestock and companion animals. Building on a 60-year history as the
animal health business of Pfizer, Zoetis discovers, develops,
manufactures and markets veterinary vaccines and medicines, complemented
by diagnostic products and genetic tests and supported by a range of
services. The company generated annual revenues of $4.3 billion in 2012.
It has more than 9,300 employees worldwide and a local presence in
approximately 70 countries, including 29 manufacturing facilities in 11
countries. Its products serve veterinarians, livestock producers and
people who raise and care for livestock and companion animals in 120
countries. For more information, visit www.zoetisUS.com.
Media:
Wendy Elliot
Zoetis
646-894-0684
wendy.e.elliot@zoetis.com
or
Lindsey Langemeier
Bader Rutter & Associates
402-434-5308
llangemeier@bader-rutter.com