Flexible Funding Model Infrastructure Development & Maintenance

Project Summary/AbstractThe Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) Food Protection Program pursues this fundingopportunity to continue its work on the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards(MFRPS), Rapid Response Team (RRT), and Food Protection Task Force (FPTF). Theseinitiatives promote the development of a high-quality food regulatory program which includes auniform basis for measuring and improving the performance of prevention, intervention, andresponse activities. Conformance with these initiatives allow the program to focus on risk andprevention, rather than event and reaction, and ensures program consistency, and promotescontinuous quality assurance and improvement efforts. These initiatives also promote a nationalIntegrated Food Safety System (IFSS) which is mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act(FSMA).The ISDH Food Protection Program has implemented MFRPS, but has determined that thisquality improvement system has not been fully integrated into the program's culture. Theprogram must find more sustainable methods to conform to and maintain these standards. Afunded RRT in Indiana has been established for two years, and the program looks forward tomore fully developing and sustaining Indiana's RRT. The Indiana Food Safety and DefenseTask Force began under another name in 2003, and continues to advance by broadeningoutlooks and strengthening partnerships.The mission of the Indiana State Department of Health is to promote and provide essentialpublic health services; the vision is a healthier and safer Indiana. The agency does so withlaboratory, epidemiology, and food protection professionals. This funding opportunity will aid theISDH Food Protection Program agency in strengthening the agency's and state's capability toprevent, investigate, and mitigate food and feed emergencies through assessment, policydevelopment, and quality assurance, and training/educational activities. It also provides thecapability to better direct food safety and regulatory activities to reduce foodborne illnesshazards. Finally, an IFSS represents a seamless partnership among federal, state, local,territorial, and tribal agencies to achieve a safer food supply. While the ISDH Food ProtectionProgram has established many necessary partnerships, there is still room for improvement.