California Food Protection Rapid Response Team (rrt)

California Food Protection Rapid Response TeamProject Summary/AbstractThe mission of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Food and Drug Branch's(FDB), Food Safety Program is to prevent and react to food and food-related problems andemergencies. We accomplish this with a combination of prevention efforts and activeintervention and response throughout the entire food chain. Toward that end we have createdthe California Food Emergency Response Team, or CalFERT, an "All Food Hazards RapidResponse Team (RRT)," to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our response to foodemergencies, whether unintentional or through purposeful acts.The primary objective of our proposed program is to further strengthen and sustain California'sfood protection program and rapid response activities to food and feed emergencies thuscontributing to the long-term improvement efforts to the National Integrated Food SafetySystem. This entails maintaining two staff members from the funds authorized under this grantthat will enhance the program's ability to conduct investigations utlizing the Incident CommandSystem (ICS) and development of RRT protocols integrating the GOODSamples guidance; thepurchase of additional technical and sampling equipment and supplies; the development andprovision of specialized trainings; strengthening of interagency collaboration, cooperation, andcommunication; and enhancement of coordination and interactions with other states' RRTprograms. The goals of this proposal are aligned with the RRT Program Objectives outlined inthe RRT 5 Year Plan and include mentorship, RRT capability data capture and assessment,communication, post response and prevention, RRT maturity and maintenance, andsustainability.Accordingly, we are requesting $375,000 in grant funds for each of the next two years.($300,000 RRT Base Award and $75,000 RRT Additional Optional Elective Funding per year;$750,000 total). This would augment current CDPH capabilities and provide the necessaryinfrastructure to conduct environmental investigations, tracebacks, and enforcement activitiesduring food and feed emergencies, thereby improving our readiness to act in emergencies.Funding would also allow us to obtain the necessary training to sharpen our internal skill set,improve the availability of critical resources, increase information sharing among federal, stateand local agencies, improve on succession planning and sustain the RRT beyond this grantperiod.An inability to develop and sustain California's RRT program would be detrimental to the state'sFood Safety Program and would have national repercussions. California is the nation's largestproducer of many important agricultural commodities including dairy, leafy greens, fruit,vegetable, and nut crops. A crisis impacting those commodities would negatively impact millionsof consumers in California, the nation, and the world. The economic impact of food emergenciescan cost hundreds of millions of dollars due to decreased demands for food commoditiesbecause of loss of consumer confidence in the food supply.