Cooperative Agreement to Support the Western Center for Food Safety (U19)

The partnership between the WCFS and FDA over the past 10 years has been very productive in supporting FDA’s public health mission by conducting studies that address knowledge gaps surrounding the safe production of agricultural foods and education/outreach activities that provide the agricultural sector with science-based information about food safety best practices. The partnership has become increasingly important as FDA works to fulfill its mandate to develop a prevention based modern food safety system under the FSMA of 2011, specifically in regards to the standards for the produce safety and preventive controls regulations which were finalized in 2016. The research, education, and outreach provided via the partnership will enhance the ongoing implementation efforts of these regulation standards which will enable stakeholders to better achieve compliance. The Agency's research strategy involves identifying and prioritizing its research needs based on its policy-making and implementation activities which include the development of critical guidance documents that accompany the regulations. WCFS has played a key role in conducting studies that were used to inform policy, including the produce safety and preventive controls standards, and will continue to do so as the Agency further implements FSMA activities. FDA regards the development and strengthening of public- private partnerships to be a key element of its FSMA implementation strategy, which involves providing education and outreach to private industry about its food safety standards in order to build industry capacity to comply with these standards prior to conducting enforcement activities. The Agency has a limited history with the agricultural community and seeks to use the strong relationships that academia has with this sector to facilitate education and outreach activities. The demonstrated ability of WCFS to successfully leverage resources through existing partnerships will continue to maximize the ability to achieve research, education and outreach objectives domestically and internationally with available funds. For example, the Agency has developed a technical assistance network that is critical in providing technical assistance to the farming community in adopting and complying with components of FSMA. The WCFS is optimally situated to be a key player in this network to deliver quality technical assistance to a broad range of food safety stakeholders in the agricultural community.An application is being requested to assist FDA with fulfilling their strategic goal of protecting and promoting public health. This cooperative agreement will provide continued support so that WCFS can meet the following objectives:Continue to conduct multidisciplinary applied laboratory, field, and educational research regarding the safety of agriculture production to generate practical solutions that can be implemented by the agricultural community and consequently, enhance food safety and food defense for FDA-regulated products.Continue to develop and maintain communication with various stakeholders, domestic and international, involved in food production and food safety in order to identify food safety knowledge gaps and opportunities to leverage resources. Continue to enhance technical assistance outreach and educational efforts through various channels, including seminars, presentations, serving on technical advisory boards and committees, outreach through agriculture extension appointments, etc.Continue to engage in multi institutional collaborations to ensure that FDA has the most current, scientific thinking on best agricultural practices across varying agro-ecological landscapes. Continue to assist the Agency in implementing the FSMA standards associated with the produce safety and preventive controls regulation.