Cooperative Agreement for ODA Conformance with Manufactured Food Regulatory Progr

The Oregon Department of Agriculture's (ODA) objective relative to the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS) is to develop and maintain an integrated system that requires and tracks compliance with food safety laws and regulations to ensure food safety and consumer protection. ODA's progressive implementation of MFRPS will facilitate the design, assessment and improvement of such a system. ODA regularly partners with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate Oregon's food establishments. In 2007, ODA enrolled in the MFRPS program as a pilot state, and has continued to participate in the program since that time. ODA's current contract with FDA commits ODA to conduct 600 general Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) inspections; however, ODA has conducted as many as 750 GMP inspections in a year. ODA intends to maintain its commitment to conduct contract inspections throughout the term of the Cooperative Agreement. Over the next five years, ODA intends to fully implement MFRPS by developing methods to measure effectiveness of implementation and by making continuous improvements. ODA intends to participate in on-site FDA visits and meetings and to provide FDA access to ODA records, databases and other materials. Since 2007, ODA has been creating an improvement plan that clearly outlines objectives and tasks, timelines for completion, resources assigned and personnel involved. When completely implemented, the plan will result in significant to full conformance with MFRPS standards. ODA has committed substantial amounts of its own resources to upgrade its computer operating system; including its inspection program and all MFRPS related fields. ODA is working diligently to provide a structure that is both manageable and sustainable. However, the MFRPS program is time consuming and requires substantial resources for its maintenance. This Cooperative Agreement will help to provide ODA with the resources necessary to develop a sustainable system, allowing ODA to maintain compliance with MFRPS into the future.