[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56112-56113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22971]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0480]


Integrated Food Safety System Online Collaboration Development--
Cooperative Agreement With the National Center for Food Protection and 
Defense (U18)

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing its 
intention to receive and consider a single source application for the 
award of a cooperative agreement in fiscal year 2010 (FY10) to the 
National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD). One of the 
primary goals of the NCFPD is to allow FDA to meet the White House Food 
Safety Working Group recommendation that the Federal government 
prioritize crucial inspection and enforcement activity across the 
world; support safety efforts by States, localities, and businesses at 
home; and utilize data to guide these efforts and evaluate their 
outcomes.

DATES:  Important dates are as follows:
    1. The application due date is September 27, 2010.
    2. The anticipated start date is September 2010.
    3. The opening date is September 27, 2010.
    4. The expiration date is September 30, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND ADDITONAL REQUIREMENTS CONTACT: Center 
Contact: Heather Brown, Food and Drug Administration, Office of 
Regulatory Affairs, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 13-45, Rockville, MD 20857, 
301-796-4304, FAX: 301-443-7270, email: [email protected].
    Grants Management Contact: Kimberly Pendleton, Division of 
Acquisition Support and Grants (HFA-500), Food and Drug Administration, 
5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 2104, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-9363, FAX: 
301-827-7101, email: [email protected].
    For more information on this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) 
and to obtain detailed requirements, please refer to the full FOA 
located at http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ucm176500.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 93.103

A. Background

    This funding opportunity is a single source application for the 
award of a cooperative agreement to the NCFPD to support the continued 
development and operations of collaborative online tools involving a 
range of stakeholders for the purposes of information sharing in the 
development of an integrated food safety system, and the development 
and implementation of a sustainable model for continued collaborative 
communications and information sharing. Competition is limited to NCFPD 
because it has unique expertise and capacity found nowhere else. It is 
the host/creator of FoodSHIELD, an inter-governmental collaborative 
project supporting information sharing at the Federal, State, and local 
levels. NCFPD also has past experience directly supporting the White 
House Food Safety Working Group Objectives to integrate the food safety 
system at all levels.

B. Research Objectives

    Food can become contaminated at many different points--on the farm, 
in processing or distribution facilities, during transit, at retail and 
food service establishments, and in the home. In recent years, FDA, in 
cooperation with other food regulatory and public health agencies, has 
done a great deal to prevent both intentional and unintentional 
contamination of food at each of these points. FDA has worked with 
other Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, and foreign 
counterpart food safety regulatory and public health agencies, as well 
as with law enforcement and intelligence-gathering agencies, industry, 
consumer groups, and academia to strengthen the Nation's food safety 
and food defense system across the entire distribution chain.
    This cooperation has resulted in greater awareness of potential 
vulnerabilities, the creation of more effective prevention programs, 
new surveillance systems, and the ability to quickly respond to 
outbreaks of foodborne illness. However, changes in consumer dietary 
patterns, changes in industry practices, changes in the U.S. 
population, and an increasingly globalized food supply chain and new 
pathogens and other contaminants pose challenges that are requiring us 
to adapt our current food protection strategies.
    Recognizing these challenges, President Obama has made a personal 
commitment to improving food safety. On July 7, 2009, the multiagency 
Food Safety Working Group (Working Group), which he established, issued 
its key findings on how to upgrade the food safety system for the 21st 
century. The

[[Page 56113]]

Working Group recommends a new public-health-focused approach to food 
safety based on three core principles: Prioritizing prevention, 
strengthening surveillance and enforcement, and improving response and 
recovery. Preventing harm to consumers is the top priority. Too often 
in the past, the food safety system has focused on reacting to problems 
rather than preventing harm in the first place. The Working Group 
recommends that food regulators shift toward prioritizing prevention 
and move aggressively to implement sensible measures to prevent 
problems before they occur.
    The intent is to fund a proposal for the continued development and 
operation of collaborative online tools involving a range of 
stakeholders for the purposes of information sharing in the development 
of an integrated food safety system and the development and 
implementation of a sustainable model for continued collaborative 
communication and information sharing.

C. Eligibility Information

    Competition is limited to NCFPD because it has unique expertise and 
capacity found nowhere else. It is the host/creator of FoodSHIELD, an 
inter-governmental collaborative project that supports information 
sharing at the Federal, State, and local levels. NCFPD is uniquely 
qualified to provide well-established and high-level access to Food/Ag 
Sector Organizations and coordination of electronic collaborative 
tools, as well as collaborative support from the Department of Health 
and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture. NCFPD also has past experience directly 
supporting the White House Food Safety Working Group Objectives to 
integrate the food safety system at all levels.

II. Award Information/Funds Available

A. Award Amount

    The estimated amount of support in FY10 will be up to $250,000 
total costs, with the possibility of up to 5 additional years of 
support at $500,000 per year, subject to the availability of funds, 
starting no later than September 2010 for the first year. More than one 
application will be considered depending on the availability of funds.

B. Length of Support

    The award will provide 1 year of support, with the possibility of 
up to 5 additional years of support.

III. Paper Application, Registration, and Submission Information

    To submit an electronic application in response to this FOA, 
applicants should first review the full announcement located at http://inside.fda.gov:9003/PolicyProcedures/GuidanceRegulations/FederalRegister/ucm008714.htm. Persons interested in applying for a 
grant may obtain an application at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. (FDA has verified the Web site addresses throughout this 
document, but FDA is not responsible for any subsequent changes to the 
Web sites after this document publishes in the Federal Register.) For 
all application submissions, the following steps are required:
     Step 1: Obtain a Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) Number
     Step 2: Register With Central Contractor Registration
     Step 3: Register With Electronic Research Administration 
(eRA) Commons
    Steps 1 and 2, in detail, can be found at http://www07.grants.gov/applicants/organization_registration.jsp. Step 3, in detail, can be 
found at https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/registration/registrationInstructions.jsp. After you have followed these steps, 
submit paper applications to:
    Kimberly Pendleton, Division of Acquisition Support and Grants 
(HFA-500), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 2104, 
Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-9363, FAX: 301-827-7101, email: 
[email protected].

    Dated: September 10, 2010.
Leslie Kux,
Acting Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2010-22971 Filed 9-14-10; 8:45 am]
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