(Updated July 17, 1 p.m.)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would keep alive the Microbiological Data Program for this year, a small victory for Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and consumer groups who are pushing Congress to keep it operating next year, even though USDA never requested funding for it.

Despite the reprieve, the funding picture for next year remains far from certain.

The Obama administration did not request funding for MDP, the $4.3 million, 11-year-old program that collects data from the states on the safety of produce. Neither the House nor the Senate bills include funding, but the measures have yet to gain final approval.

MDP was designed to provide data in fresh produce to establish a microbial baseline to assess the risks of contamination in the domestic food supply. Eleven states — California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin — collect samples under cooperative agreements of fresh produce. State labs perform the analytical testing of domestic and imported produce samples.

But the sampling program has become a political football that nobody seems to want.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a congressional hearing that it should be housed at the Food & Drug Administration, but FDA has not requested the program nor does it have the $4 million to run it. On top of that, FDA is busy trying to launch the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

Rep. DeLauro offered an amendment June 19 to the House spending bill for USDA that, among other things, would have recommended USDA continue collecting foodborne pathogen monitoring data through cooperation with state agriculture departments and other federal agencies. The amendment was rejected.

The Washington Post put a spotlight to the program in a July 12 story, Produce-safety testing program on chopping block.

Now news comes that USDA will continue funding it for this year.

"While the Microbiological Data Program does not align with USDA's core mission, the department will continue its work with state partners using existing agreements to conduct sampling and testing through this program through the end of the year," Jim Brownee, a USDA spokesman, said July 17.

Earlier this year, the United Fresh Produce Association issued a press statement explaining that the MDP should not be housed at the Agricultural Marketing Service, but is a better fit with FDA's authorities.

"FDA is the nation's leading regulatory authority on public health, and United Fresh believes that a program such as the Microbiological Data Program should be administered by FDA to ensure the greatest possible accuracy and efficacy," United Fresh said.

"United Fresh supports a testing program by FDA that is scientifically accurate and effective in monitoring and protecting public health," the group said. "USDA does not have the regulatory authority nor has Congress ever authorized AMS to facilitate food safety or testing protocols related to produce."

Rep. DeLauro is now looking next year to get the program funded.

In a July 2 letter to the Office of Management & Budget, Rep. DeLauro urged the Obama administration to request funding for MDP when it drafts its fiscal 2014 budget request.

In 2011, it conducted 35,000 tests on more than 17,400 produce samples, she said. The program collects data that is one piece of the puzzle when experts decide whether foods should be recalled. Of the 28 MDP samples found to be positive for Salmonella, only six resulted in recalls and five of those six were connected with foodborne illnesses, she wrote.

"It is unacceptable for this valuable, cost-effective program — and the only program dedicated to improving our understanding of the bacterial contamination of produce — to be eliminated," Rep. DeLauro said. "If the question is determining where it should be housed in future fiscal years, I urge you to encourage the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to determine where the program should be housed and request funding for the program through the appropriate office."