[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37228-37230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14673]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2013-N-0010]


Cooperative Agreement To Support the Western Center for Food 
Safety

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the 
availability of grant funds for a cooperative agreement to support the 
Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS). FDA regards the continued 
support of WCFS as crucial to receiving invaluable insight into the 
food safety issues that it is directed to address through various 
provisions of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). FDA 
concludes this partnership will enhance FDA's efforts to address the 
particularly complex issues surrounding the safety of agricultural 
production. Partnering with WCFS provides FDA with the opportunity to 
stimulate collaborations so that resources can be leveraged to maximize 
food safety research, education, and outreach efforts aimed at WCFS and 
FDA stakeholders particularly those within the agricultural community. 
A key outcome of this effort is to enhance FDA's implementation of the 
prevention oriented activities outlined in FSMA.

DATES: Important dates are as follows:
    1. The application due date is July 15, 2013.
    2. The anticipated start date is September, 2013.
    3. The opening date is June 20, 2013.
    4. The expiration date is July 16, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit the paper application to: Gladys Melendez, Grants 
Management (HFA-500), 5630 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, and a 
copy to Kevin W. Robinson, Center for Food Safety and Applied 
Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-
2118. For more information, see section III of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samir K. Assar, Center for Food Safety 
and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, CPK1 Rm. 3A001, 
5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-1636; or 
Gladys Melendez, Grants Management Officer/Specialist, Office of 
Acquisition and Grants Services, Food and Drug Administration, 5630 
Fishers Lane, Rm. 2032, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-7175.
    For more information on this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) 
and to obtain detailed requirements, please refer to the full FOA 
located at www.fda.gov/food/newsevents/default.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    RFA-FD-13-023.
    93.103.

A. Background

    FDA is announcing its intention to receive and consider a single-
source application for the award of a cooperative agreement in fiscal 
year 2013 (FY13) to the University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, to 
support WCFS.

[[Page 37229]]

    The partnership between WCFS and FDA over the past 5 years has been 
very productive in supporting FDA's public health mission by conducting 
studies that address knowledge gaps surrounding the safe production of 
agricultural foods and education/outreach activities that provide the 
agricultural sector with information about food safety best practices. 
With the enactment of FSMA in 2011, the partnership has become 
increasingly important as FDA works to fulfill its mandate to develop a 
prevention-based modern food safety system. FSMA directs the Agency to 
develop and implement risk and science-based enforceable standards and 
enhance partnerships with its food safety stakeholders. The Agency's 
research strategy is focused on building the scientific foundation it 
needs to support the development and implementation of science-based 
standards. The strategy involves identifying and prioritizing its 
research needs based on its policymaking and implementation activities. 
WCFS has played a critical role in conducting studies that were used to 
inform policy, including regulations that are being developed under 
FSMA, and will continue to do so as the Agency further implements FSMA 
activities.
    FDA regards the development and strengthening of public-private 
partnerships to be a key element of its FSMA implementation strategy, 
which involves providing education and outreach to private industry 
about its food safety standards in order to build industry capacity to 
comply with these standards prior to conducting enforcement activities. 
The Agency has a limited history with the agricultural community and 
seeks to use the strong relationships that academia has with this 
sector to facilitate education and outreach activities. The 
demonstrated ability of WCFS to successfully leverage resources through 
existing partnerships will continue to maximize the ability to achieve 
research, education, and outreach objectives domestically and 
internationally with available funds. The Agency is developing a 
technical assistance network that will be critical in providing 
technical assistance to the farming community in adopting and complying 
with components of FSMA. WCFS is optimally situated to be a key player 
in this network to deliver quality technical assistance to a broad 
range of food safety stakeholders in the agricultural community.

B. Research Objectives

    This cooperative agreement will provide continued support so that 
WCFS can meet the following research objectives:
     Continue to conduct multidisciplinary applied laboratory, 
field, and educational research regarding the safety of agriculture 
production to generate practical solutions that can be implemented by 
the agricultural community and consequently, enhance food safety and 
food defense for FDA-regulated products.
     Continue to develop and maintain communication with 
various stakeholders, domestic and international, involved in food 
production and food safety in order to identify food safety knowledge 
gaps and opportunities to leverage resources.
     Continue to enhance technical assistance outreach and 
educational efforts through various channels, including seminars, 
presentations, serving on technical advisory boards and committees, and 
outreach through agriculture extension appointments.
     Continue to engage in multi-institutional collaborations 
to ensure that FDA has the most current scientific thinking on best 
agricultural practices across varying agro-ecological landscapes.
     Continue to assist the Agency in implementing food safety 
standards under FSMA.

C. Eligibility Information

The University of California-Davis (UC Davis), WCFS
    Competition is limited to WCFS because FDA has determined that WCFS 
is uniquely qualified to fulfill the objectives outlined in the 
proposed cooperative agreement. The program has demonstrated the 
adaptability necessary to address FDA's evolving high-priority public 
health issues. This adaptability allows WCFS to successfully leverage 
resources across a variety of organizations including the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture--National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 
Center for Produce Safety, numerous industry boards, and also with 
universities across the country. This has led to the expansion of the 
program and has also increased their visibility as a food safety 
resource thus propagating additional collaborations. In addition, the 
WCFS locations at the UC Davis main campus and experimental stations 
provide invaluable access to one of the leading food production and 
food safety research institutions in the country with prominent 
researchers and access to agricultural producers, along with other 
public and private stakeholders. This established UC Davis network 
allows WCFS to offer technical assistance that will aid in the 
protection of public health by increasing the adoption and 
understanding of guidance and policy.
    WCFS has conducted research on diverse agriculture production 
issues of importance to FDA including common routes of contamination on 
a farm, environmental contamination, and agricultural practices and 
possesses the ability to further expand their research into other 
production areas. The location of WCFS affords FDA the opportunity to 
obtain data from meaningful, field-based trials in an important food-
producing area of the country. WCFS access to field sites for 
experimental trials is instrumental to FDA receiving the most current 
scientifically validated information that relates to actual 
agricultural conditions. WCFS has established research collaborations 
with research institutions throughout the United States including 
Florida, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, and Hawaii to study the agro-
ecological differences that may impact food safety in the agricultural 
sector. WCFS has also made available research tools that can be 
utilized by all research institutions that could facilitate industry 
compliance with preventive control standards. Information gleaned from 
this research has been made publicly available and has been useful to 
domestic and international stakeholders and often translates into 
proactive, science-based preventive controls. FDA has utilized this 
information when developing policy aimed at fulfilling its public 
health mission. Industry boards and grower groups have also 
incorporated WCFS generated information into their national and 
regional food safety guidance documents.
    WCFS has also effectively provided extensive technical outreach and 
education through participation on high profile advisory boards/panels 
covering diverse agricultural topics including but not limited to good 
agricultural practices, tree nuts, veterinary science, and specialty 
crops that span the United States. Additionally, WCFS regularly 
outreaches to the agricultural community through conferences and 
meetings to provide information about best practices. Finally, WCFS and 
FDA have also provided opportunities for postgraduates to be trained 
and mentored by WCFS and FDA scientists in areas of field, laboratory, 
and educational research.

[[Page 37230]]

II. Award Information/Funds Available

A. Award Amount

    The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at FDA intends to 
fund one award up to $2 million for FY13, with the possibility of four 
additional years of support, subject to the availability of funds. 
Future year amounts will depend on annual appropriations and successful 
performance.

B. Length of Support

    The award will provide 1 year of support, with the possibility of 
four additional years of support, contingent upon satisfactory 
performance in the achievement of project and program reporting 
objectives during the preceding year and the availability of Federal 
fiscal year appropriations.

III. Paper Application, Registration, and Submission Information

    To submit a paper application in response to this FOA, applicants 
should first review the full announcement located at www.fda.gov/food/newsevents/default.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.) Persons interested in applying for a grant may obtain an 
application at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. For all paper 
application submissions, the following steps are required:

 Step 1: Obtain a Dun and Bradstreet (DUNS) Number
 Step 2: Register With System for Award Management (SAM)
 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 the Grants Management Officer/Specialist 
listed above.

    Dated: June 14, 2013.
Leslie Kux,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-14673 Filed 6-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P