Food Protection Rapid Response Team Project (U18) Proposal Abstract Washington State RRT Continuation Project After four years of intense work by the WSDA Food Safety and Consumer Services Division along with our partners at the FDA Seattle District Office and other important partners, we have achieved significant progress in achieving the initial goals of the RRT project: 1. An FDA/WSDA food and feed emergency Rapid Response Team has been created. 2. The Division has made important progress toward implementation of the FDA's Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS). 3. Through the creation of our first draft statewide Food Emergency Response Plan (FERP), the state has made great improvements in emergency communication and coordination. WSDA intends to take the opportunity provided by this RFA to continue this successful effort by: 1. Providing mentorship in RRT development to the state of Iowa. 2. Capturing response metrics and developing an RRT improvement plan designed to improve response performance. 3. Conducting outreach events about the RRT project at a regional or national meeting(s) 4. Enhance communication and coordination with Washington State partner agencies during food emergency responses through additional planning and joint after-action reviews. 5. Finalizing the draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), conducting joint training, conducting exercises, and completing a joint improvement plan. 6. Providing additional input and assistance in the national effort to develop RRT capacity through participation in the Environmental Assessment workgroup and other initiatives. 7. Improving the FERP and ensuring that it is integrated into the state's Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP). We will also continue to develop the state's Food Protection Task Force (FPTF). The WSDA Food Safety and Consumer Services Division meets all eligibility requirements for this funding opportunity: We are the state's manufactured food regulatory program and have a current FDA food safety inspection contract. We are enrolled in the FDA MFRPS. We are currently receiving funding under the RRT cooperative agreement program. 1 | Page RFA-FD-13-006: Food Protection Rapid Response Team Project
Food Protection Rapid Response Team Project (U18) Public Health Relevance Recently, large illness outbreaks from contaminated food have highlighted the importance of acting quickly to protect the public's health and confidence. For food regulatory authorities this includes: Ensuring fast and accurate communications with human health surveillance agencies Initiating response activities quickly Ensuring that response activities are well-focused and performed correctly Coordinating response activities with other impacted agencies Laboratory analyses are performed quickly and correctly Public communications are timely, relevant, and accurate Regulatory actions (product recalls, embargoes, etc.) are decisive and effective This project contributes to these goals through the development of Rapid Response Teams and joint advanced planning with other impacted agencies. 1 | Page RFA-FD-13-006: Food Protection Rapid Response Team
