Cooperative Agreement to Support the Illinois Institute of Technology's Institute for Food Safety and Health (U19 Clinical Trial Optional)

FDA believes that the thirty-year FDA-IIT collaboration has been a sound investment. National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) was established by IIT to bring together the food safety and technology expertise of academia, industry and FDA for the purpose of supporting research and outreach efforts related to the safety of foods based on a common goal of enhancing the safety of the food supply for U.S. consumers. NCFST has been successful in developing research programs such as those related to low-moisture foods and outreach programs such as those related to sprout safety; these successes were achieved as a result of NCFST partnering with industry, academia and FDA. Since April 2011, NCFST has advanced to become the Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH), and NCFST remains within the new IFSH structure as a primary research center coordinating the collaborative research programs in food safety and applied nutrition among FDA/CFSAN, IIT and the member companies. In addition to NCFST, other Centers within the new IFSH structure are Center for Processing Innovation, Center for Nutrition Research, and Center for Specialty Programs. With an increasingly diverse domestic and global food supply, FDA continues to face complex food safety issues associated with the foods that it regulates. Some of these complex issues can be effectively addressed by further strengthening the available science-based programs established through IFSH. FDA also believes that innovative research and outreach programs such as those established at IFSH can further support the development of proactive approaches to the prevention of food safety problems before they occur. With the enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011, the collaboration with IFSH has become increasingly important as FDA works to fulfill its mandate to develop a modern, prevention-based food safety system. FDA regards the development and strengthening of public-private partnerships for research and outreach on preventive controls to be a key element of its FSMA implementation strategy. A proposal is being solicited for meeting this need as well as FDA's strategic goal to protect and promote the public health. This cooperative agreement will provide continued support so that IFSH can meet the following objectives: 1. Carry out multidisciplinary applied research projects on the safety of processed foods; on food processing and packaging technologies; on the impact of these processing strategies on the nutritional quality of food; and on laboratory method performance (including method validation) that address issues associated with FDA-regulated products; 2. Maintain and facilitate the further development of the IFSH collaborative research program by leveraging resources among U.S. government agencies, universities (including other IIT components), and the food industry to achieve practical solutions to food safety and food processing issues; 3. Develop and implement outreach and communication programs with stakeholders to identify research needs and to facilitate the use of the information produced by the research program; and 4. Support the implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act through research, education, and outreach, with particular emphasis on the science behind preventive controls associated with manufacturing, processing, packing and holding of food.