FLEXIBLE SPENDING MODEL - INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE FOR THE CALIFORNIA MANUFACTURED FOOD REGULATORY PROGRAMS (MFRPS) AND CALIFORNIA RAPID RESPONSE TEAM (RRT)

Flexible Funding Model ? California's Infrastructure Maintenancefor Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards and Rapid Response TeamProject Summary/AbstractThe mission of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Food and Drug Branch(FDB), Food Safety Section (FSS) is to ensure the safety of the food supply through effectiveprevention, intervention and response programs. As a means of accomplishing this mission,FDB has developed strong inspection and enforcement programs, industry education andtraining programs, and food emergency response programs.The primary objective of our proposal is to continue maintenance of California's best practicesfor a high-quality regulatory program to enhance food safety. This entails continued interagencycollaboration, cooperation, and communication; maintenance and sustainment of conformancewith the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS); maintenance andsustainment of California's Food Emergency Response Team (CalFERT) activities to food andfeed emergencies, and continued strengthening, coordination and interactions with the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other states' food safety and RRT programs.Under this proposal, we are requesting $630,000 in grant funds for each of the next five years(Per year: $300,000 supporting MFRPS, $300,000 RRT, and $30,000 RRT Special Project).Authorized grant funds will be used to augment current FSS capabilities, and maintain thenecessary infrastructure to continue sustainment of MFRPS and RRT.Under MFRPS, two dedicated staff members will work on maintaining the FSS's ability toconduct high-quality inspections and investigations to reduce the incidence of foodcontamination and ultimately foodborne illness associated with products manufactured anddistributed within California. Under RRT, two dedicated staff members will work on maintainingand enhancing the program's ability to conduct investigations, assessments, tracebacks, andenforcement activities (utlizing Incident Command System and specialized trainings) resulting ina more efficient statewide human and animal food (HAF) protection system, maximizing publicprotection, and contributing to the long-term improvement efforts to the National Integrated FoodSafety System.Grant monies will enable the FSS to continue its food regulatory program throughregular/additional training and development of staff to increase skills and expertise; maintainefficiency and effectiveness of critical resources; maintain information sharing among federal,state and local agencies; maintain succession planning; and sustain full conformance withMFRPS and priorities of RRT Program 5 Year Plan throughout this grant period. These activitiesare detrimental to California's Food Safety Program and would have national repercussions asCalifornia is the nation's top agricultural producing state.