$17.5 Million Awarded In
Food, Feed Safety Grants
The FDA awarded $17.5 million in fiscal 2009 to further food and feed safety. The funding covers 83 grants in four major areas: response, intervention, innovation and prevention.
The Food Protection Rapid Response Team (R.R.T.) and Program Infrastructure Improvement Prototype Project agreements, which are part of the response area of funding, will develop, implement, exercise and integrate an all-hazards food and foodborne illness response capability to more rapidly react to potential threats to the U.S. food supply, according to the FDA. Virginia, Texas and Washington received up to $500,000 in fiscal 2009 to form an R.R.T., conduct a program assessment, purchase additional equipment and supplies, fund personnel, and train and share information and data.
On the intervention front, grants for Food Safety and Security Monitoring will be used to fund Food Emergency Response Network laboratories (FERN). According to the FDA, the FERN laboratories provide additional capacity for analyzing food samples in the event of foodborne disease outbreaks or other large-scale food emergency events. Selected laboratories received up to $350,000 in grant funds for microbiological, chemical or radiological analysis capacity.
Innovative Food Defense Projects grants were awarded to Wisconsin and North Carolina, as well as to Riverside County (California) Department of Environmental Health and Westchester County (New York) Department of Health. Each recipient received up to $62,500 to generate products that complement, develop, or improve state and local food defense programs.
The final area, prevention, includes the Food Protection Task Force Conference program that supports meetings that foster communication, cooperation and collaboration among state, local and tribal food protection, public health, agriculture and regulatory agencies. Pennsylvania and New Hampshire were selected to receive awards up to $5,000 in fiscal 2009, joining 22 other states and the District of Columbia that already have existing grants.
*****
USDA To Host
2010 Food Safety Education Conference
USDA and NSF International are hosting the 2010 Food Safety Education Conference, "Advancements in Food Safety: Trends, Tools and Technologies," March 23-26, in Atlanta.Educators and professionals will have the opportunity to discover the latest advances in food safety education, including trends, tools and technologies.For more information, visit http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Atlanta2010.
*****
FSIS Clarifies New Food Defense Plan
FSIS recently issued new general guidance for sound and functional defense plans in small and very small plants. Mailers were sent in October to those without a food defense plan when surveyed in 2008. The purpose is to clarify what should be done once the document is signed. Establishments were instructed to review and sign the document, then retain it on file as proof of its plan. The plan is the plant’s proprietary property and should not be mailed to FSIS. For a copy of a general plan, go to http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Science/Small_Very_Small_Plant_Outreach.
*****
Calendar
Jan. 25-28 - Food Safety & Sanitation for Food Plants, Manhattan, Kan.
Jan. 26-28 - Introduction to an Integrated Quality System for the Food Industry, Phoenix (Tempe), Ariz.
Feb. 9-10 - Food Plant GMP/Sanitation Workshop, San Diego, Calif.
Feb. 9-10 - Equipment & Plant Design Workshop for Allergen/Pathogen Control, Chicago, Ill.
Feb. 11-12 - HACCP Workshop, San Diego, Calif.
Feb. 16-18 - Food Defense Coordinator, Seattle, Wash.
Feb. 16-17 - Principles of Inspecting & Auditing Food Plants, Birmingham, Ala.
Feb. 22-23 - Principles of Warehouse Sanitation, Manhattan, Kan.
March 2-3 - Advanced HACCP Workshop, Phoenix (Tempe), Ariz.
March 2-4 - Food Defense Coordinator, Tampa, Fla.
March 9-10 - Food Plant GMP/Sanitation Workshop, Atlanta (College Park), Ga.
March 11-12 - HACCP Workshop, Atlanta (College Park), Ga.
March 16-18 - Building Your HACCP Program, Atlanta (College Park), Ga.
April 13-15 - Introduction to an Integrated Quality System for the Food Industry, Atlanta (College Park), Ga.
April 19-20 - Labeling of FDA Regulated Food Products, San Diego, Calif.
April 20-21 - Food Plant GMP/Sanitation Workshop, Reno, Nev.
April 22-23 - HACCP Workshop, Reno, Nev.
April 27-29 - Food Safety & Quality Update, Kansas City, Mo.