In order to expand the capacity of the Food Safety and Lodging program, the KansasDepartment of Agriculture, by entering into a cooperative agreement with the FDA, plans to hirea Quality Assurance/Data Analyst Coordinator. With the addition of this position to the FoodSafety team, the department will be able to develop and implement a quality assurance programfor field inspections, inspection reports, and compliance and enforcement activities. The resultsfrom these audits will be used to improve almost every aspect of the program, including training,inspections, compliance, enforcement, and outreach. The data gathered from the QA programcan be collected and analyzed to lead the creation of a risk-based inspection schedule. Anotherbenefit of this program enhancement will be the opportunity to share the information collectedwith sister states and other local, tribal, and territorial food safety programs. Informationcollected and analyzed through the QA program will also be shared with food industry leadersand the FDA.

Public Health Relevance

Relevance By entering into this cooperative agreement, the Food Safety and Lodging program of the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) will be able to collect data and study trends relating to its inspections and the compliance and enforcement program. The information gathered will improve many aspects of the Food Safety and Lodging program, helping to protect public health and lead to more effective information-sharing with other food safety programs, industry leaders, and the FDA.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Type
Research Demonstration--Cooperative Agreements (U18)
Project #
1U18FD004735-01
Application #
8518025
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZFD1-SRC (99))
Project Start
2012-09-10
Project End
2015-06-30
Budget Start
2012-09-10
Budget End
2013-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Kansas State Department of Agriculture
Department
Type
DUNS #
176076156
City
Topeka
State
KS
Country
United States
Zip Code
66612