Designing A Vnrfrps Funding System in Support of A National Ifss Years 4 Through 8

PROJECT SUMMARYThe Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) proposes to expand the previouslydeveloped Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) fundingsystem in support of a national integrated food safety system (IFSS). Project Goals includeassisting state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) retail food regulatory programs to achievegreater conformance with the VNRFRPS, facilitating the sharing of information about theprogram through a dedicated AFDO Retail Program Standards website and broad outreach toeligible jurisdictions, supporting implementation of proven and innovative intervention strategiesto reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors, and expansion of resources to furtherenhance SLTT agencies to improve and build upon existing programs. These goals will beaccomplished by continuing to work with a joint advisory group that includes members fromAFDO and FDA, to expand, implement, and manage a funding system that fairly and broadlydistributes subawards to SLTT retail food regulatory programs, for completion of projects andtraining to enhance conformance with the VNRFRPS. Achieving project goals and objectiveswill continue supporting the advancement of an IFSS through the financial and programmaticsupport of innovative VNRFRPS projects, and through enhanced sharing of successfulstrategies among food regulatory partners at all levels. We further expect the project to continuepromoting goodwill between FDA Regional Retail Food Specialists and other FDA staff, andSLTT staff members through joint participation in a simple and straightforward funding processthat distributes project funding broadly and fairly, and offers excellent technical assistance.Ultimately, the safety, security, and defense of the United States food supply will improvethrough the expansion and continuation of this project.Page 1 of 1