FLEXIBLE FUNDING MODEL -MFRPS; RRT; FOOD SAFETY TASK FORCE

Project Summary/AbstractThe Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) proposes to continue itsmentorship with other states' Rapid Response Teams; coordinate outbreak response withFood and Drug Administration (FDA) Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation(CORE) and local health departments that have jurisdiction over retail sales of food;establish communication protocols with food industries in Texas; further developStandard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and embed Texas Rapid Response team(TRRT) responsibilities into the day to day activities of the state staff. Additionally, DSHSwill undertake a capability assessment each year and develop and update animprovement plan for the TRRT; schedule and conduct at least one exercise or respondto an incident, including after action reviews each year, and; represent the TRRT onnational RRT workgroups and at local and national meetings. DSHS will continue to refineand enhance the development of the Texas Rapid Response Team so that in the eventof a food borne illness outbreak, the TRRT will be able to respond quickly and effectively.Over the next 5-year grant period DSHS Manufactured Foods Regulatory ProgramStandards (MFRPS) proposes to continue work to maintain the standards. In addition,the program will work on standards enhancement projects outlined in the strategic plan(Appendix B). The program will participate in the MFRPA Annual meeting and look foropportunities to participate on national workgroups related to the standards. DSHS willcontinue outreach to include specialized training for local health departmentepidemiologists in case interviews and developing a protocol for working with local healthdepartments during food borne illness investigations (Standard 5), on-demand webinarsfor industry in areas of GMPs, preventive controls, and common violations (Standard 7),and providing Preventive Control Alliance training for regulatory and industry partners(Standard 2 and 7).The Texas Food Safety and Defense Task Force provides a forum to discuss food safetyand security issues along the farm to fork continuum with a primary focus on Texas. Thepurpose of the Task Force is to maintain an open dialogue with all partners in food safetyand defense in order to promote an efficient food safety system in Texas that maximizesthe protection of public health. The Task Force is comprised of academia, industryassociations, consumer associations and regulatory agencies at the local, state, andfederal levels. The taskforce will hold annual meetings.