Notice Number: NOT-FD-16-002

Key Dates
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: April 2016
First Estimated Application Due Date: June 2016
Earliest Estimated Award Date: September 2016
Earliest Estimated Start Date: September 2016

Issued by
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Purpose

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Regulatory Affairs, intends to promote a new initiative by publishing a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit applications for-cooperative agreements to advance efforts for a nationally integrated food safety system through the establishment or enhancement of State and Territorial Produce Safety Programs to encourage the safe production of fresh fruits and vegetables and to promote compliance with the requirements of FDA’s Regulation “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption” (commonly referred to as the Produce Safety Rule).

Applicants are encouraged to fund infrastructure building, evaluation and implementation activities by undertaking initiatives to assess their jurisdiction's unique produce safety landscape and then develop programs to address the specific and unique needs of their jurisdiction.

The FOA will contemplate funding for initiatives including, but not limited to: :

• Evaluating the need for new or updated produce legislative or regulatory authority;
• Assessing produce landscape and available resources to determine the necessary size and scope of their jurisdiction's Produce Safety Program;
• Procuring resources for and investing in the program's infrastructure;
• Establishing an up to date farm inventory;
• Developing and/or providing education, outreach, and technical assistance to the farming community;
• Developing and/or providing education and technical assistance to regulators within their jurisdiction;
• Developing and implementing state/territorial level inspection, compliance and enforcement activities;
• Formulating and proposing a 5-year plan for the implementation of a new or enhanced produce safety system;
• Developing a metrics system for measuring the progress towards the above activities using analytical processes including quantitative and qualitative data where possible;
• Developing mechanisms to coordinate with other local, state, and federal agencies for produce safety activities.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. 

The FOA is expected to be published in April 2016 with an expected application due date in June 2016.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Lisa Ko
Grants Management Officer
Email: Lisa.Ko@fda.hhs.gov