Cooperative Agreement to Support the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, JIFSAN (U19)

Since 1997, FDA's partnership with UMCP-JIFSAN has been successful in developing multiple programs to support public health policy. The goal of JIFSAN is to advance sound strategies that improve public health, nutrition, and food/feed safety through three broad program areas: research, education, and outreach. With an increasingly diverse domestic and global food supply, FDA continues to face complex food safety issues associated with products that it regulates (i.e., conventional foods; food ingredients; dietary supplements; cosmetics; animal feed, feed additives and animal drugs). FDA believes that some of these complex issues can be effectively addressed by further strengthening the available science-based programs established through JIFSAN. FDA also believes that innovative capacity-building partnerships with various sectors of stakeholders in conjunction with JIFSAN’s research and training programs can further support the development of proactive approaches to the prevention of problems before they occur. This cooperative agreement will provide continued support so that UMCP-JIFSAN can meet the following objectives: Establish multi-institutional, multidisciplinary applied research projects to address complex food/feed safety and public health issues associated with products that FDA regulates. Applied research includes not only traditional laboratory and field research, but also epidemiological, educational, social and behavioral science. Continue the development of mechanisms for the exchange of technical information and scientific concepts between FDA and other sectors of the international and domestic community, through workshops, short courses and symposia, and on-line resources that focus on existing and emerging complex food/feed safety and public health issues. Continue the development and refinement of programs based on the application of the principles of risk analysis to address food/feed defense and safety issues. Continue the design and improvement of domestic and international collaborations, which foster greater implementation of effective food safety practices. Continue developing innovative education and outreach programs that will provide opportunities to leverage resources among various sectors of stakeholders to address complex safety issues associated with an increasingly diverse global food/feed supply.