Retail Food Safety Association Collaboration (U18) Clinical Trial Not Allowed

Description

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) is announcing the availability of cooperative agreements to be awarded under Limited Competition to non-profit membership national food safety regulatory associations focused on retail food safety initiatives. The intended outcome of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is leveraging the resources and strengths of national retail food safety associations to collaboratively advance retail food protection and reduce foodborne illness. The resulting cooperative agreements will provide additional support to advance retail food safety by reviewing existing research on the effectiveness of intervention strategies designed to reduce foodborne illness risk factors, conducting research to assess the current use of intervention strategies by state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) retail food regulatory programs and industry, developing outreach programs to promote use of effective intervention strategies and other best practices, promoting implementation and full conformance of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) by state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) jurisdictions, supporting full adoption of the most recent FDA Food Code, and improving foodborne illness outbreak response. The resulting cooperative agreements will include one year of funding with up to one year of additional non-competitive support, dependent on grantee performance and continued availability of federal funds. Program Goals:Specific Areas of Research Interest (include examples of research topics. In such cases, add a statement indicating that appropriate topics “include but are not limited to those listed below.” If R01, R21, and R03 companions are issued, add a few sentences to the R21 and R03 to differentiate them. The parent announcements can be used as reference.This section may also address scientific knowledge to be achieved through research supported by the special program and types of research and experimental approaches that are being sought to achieve the objectives. Literature citations from non-governmental sources should not be used except according to the diversity guidance.If this is a Diversity-targeted FOA, make sure to insert language from the Diversity Guidance posted on the templates page. You must include IC interest in diversity, programmatic features (including need, approach, goals/outcomes, evaluation metrics, sunset provisions), and NIH's Diversity Statement.The intended outcome of this FOA is to assist retail food regulatory programs in reducing foodborne illness by conducting research and implementing effective intervention strategies designed to reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors; implementing and achieving full conformance with VNRFRPS; performing risk-based inspections to effectively identify foodborne illness risk factors, assess gaps in active managerial control, and promote regulatory compliance; adopting the most recent version of the FDA Food Code; effectively responding to foodborne illness outbreaks; and responding to emerging food safety trends. Objectives: Applicants may choose to submit a research strategy that addresses a portion or all of the objectives for this FOA. The following are the objectives of this FOA:Identify, assess, and promote implementation of effective intervention strategies. Intervention strategies are defined as a comprehensive set of activities, initiatives, or specific tools implemented on the part of industry and/or regulators that are designed to bring about immediate and/or long-term control of foodborne illness risk factors. Intervention strategies that have undergone field testing to prove effectiveness in changing long-term behavior of food employees are ideal for marketing to SLTT/industry partners.Develop and implement toolkits and subsequent strategies to promote full, complete adoption of the most recent FDA Food Code by SLTT retail food regulatory programs.Assess application of risk-based inspection methods by SLTT regulatory jurisdictions, identify barriers preventing application of risk-based inspection methods, and coordinate with the FDA to implement strategies to overcome the barriers. Build upon the FDA’s VNRFRPS technical assistance strategy to provide a “multiplier effect” to promote participation and implementation of the VNRFRPS by SLTTs.Develop and promote strategies to improve active managerial control at the retail level. Active managerial control means the purposeful incorporation of specific actions or procedures by industry management into the operation of their business to attain control over foodborne illness risk factors. It embodies a preventive rather than reactive approach to food safety through a continuous system of monitoring and verification. Identify and issue joint recommendations with the FDA on emerging retail food safety issues and coordinate with the FDA to implement the recommendations, as appropriate.Implement strategies to promote availability and usage of best practices, tool kits, research, and other information sharing among retail food safety stakeholders.Develop and implement training, outreach, educational materials and opportunities, and other innovative approaches to assist SLTT regulatory jurisdictions with reducing the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors in food establishments and responding more effectively to foodborne illness outbreaks.Develop and implement effective communication strategies to advance retail food safety initiatives across all stakeholders.Develop and promote tools that can be used nationally to meet objectives above.

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