Missouri gets $1.2 million in federal food safety grants

Missouri has received more than $1.2 million in federal grants for its food safety efforts.

About $900,000 will go to the state health and agriculture departments. The agencies will develop training programs for state and local officials who might be involved in responding to a natural disaster or an outbreak of a food-borne illness.

About $300,000 will go to train Missouri food producers and government officials to assess processing plants for potential food safety risks and implement safety plans.

A smaller grant of $37,000 will focus on training poultry and egg producers on preventing salmonella from contaminating their farms.

All of the grants were awarded on a competitive basis by the federal Food and Drug Administration.