FDA FERN Laboratory Accreditation Project Grant (FDA-FLAP Grant)

<p>Project Summary/Abstract: The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Laboratory is the regulatory food laboratory for the State of Oklahoma. The laboratory tests foods for both chemical and microbiological analytes for the ODAFF - Food Safety Division's Manufactured Food Regulatory Program, and for the Oklahoma State Department of Health, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The laboratory is also Oklahoma's Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) Laboratory for Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology analysis. The ODAFF will use federal grant funds from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 'General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories' in food analysis, including chemical and microbiological analytes. This process is expected to take five years, and will follow the recommendations of the Partnership for Food Protection - Laboratory Task Group (PFP-LTG). The PFP is a joint multi-federal agency and state partnership, hosted by the FDA. The LTG is the laboratory committee writing requirements and recommendations for food laboratory accreditation as mandated in the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010 (FSMA 2010.)During the fifth and final year of federal funding, the laboratory will apply to an external accrediting body, and obtain accreditation in the areas of Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology. Accreditation is a long cherished goal of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food,& Forestry Laboratory, and will permit federal agencies to use test results generated in the ODAFF Laboratory for federal regulatory enforcement and criminal prosecution.</p>