Purchase of Outdoor Air-Cooled Condensing Unit for Conviron model GR144 Plant Growth Room

The purpose of this acquisition is to obtain a Conviron Outdoor Air-Cooled Condensing Unit that is needed to support an existing Conviron model GR144 Plant Growth Room. This equipment supports the mission of the Office of Applied Microbiology and Technology (OAMT) which includes method development, optimization, and validation for fresh produce matrices linked to outbreaks. The condenser itself is required to properly operate the plant growth room.

This allows researchers to grow produce and mimic a variety of growing conditions, enabling the FDA to assess current methods and exposures to harmful foodborne pathogens. Additionally, acquiring this condenser and locating it in a BSL2 laboratory will enable FDA to develop, optimize, and validate new detection methods using outbreak strains, something not possible in a commercial or agricultural environment.