[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 81 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23360-23361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09501]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2014-N-0411]


Cooperative Agreement To Support the Illinois Institute of 
Technology's National Center for Food Safety and Technology

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 in support of 
the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), which supports the National 
Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST). The estimated amount of 
support in Fiscal Year (FY) 14 will be for up to $5 million (direct 
plus indirect costs), with the possibility of 4 additional years of 
support for up to $20 million, subject to the availability of funds. 
This award will improve public health by continued support of an 
applied research, education, and outreach program related to the safety 
of food processing technologies and processed foods.

DATES: Important dates are as follows:
    1. The application due date is June 3, 2014.
    2. The anticipated start date is September 2014.
    3. The opening date is May 3, 2014.
    4. The expiration date is June 4, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit the original paper application to Gladys Melendez 
(Bohler) and a copy to Mickey Parish at the following addresses: Mickey 
Parish, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., HFS-300, Rm. 3A-
0264, College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-1728, [email protected]; 
and Gladys Melendez (Bohler), Division of State Acquisitions, 
Agreements and Grants, Food and Drug Administration, (HFA-500), 5630 
Fishers Lane, Rm. 2032, Rockville, MD 20857, 240-731-3905, 
[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/default.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Funding Opportunity Number: RFA-FD-1-005.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 93.103

A. Background

    FDA has supported the NCFST under six previously awarded 
cooperative agreements (53 FR 15736; 56 FR 46189; 59 FR 24703; 64 FR 
39512; 69 FR 25405; and 74 FR 26408). NCFST was established by IIT to 
bring together the food safety and technology expertise of academia, 
industry, and FDA for the purpose of supporting research and outreach 
efforts related to the safety of foods based on a common goal of 
enhancing the safety of the food supply for U.S. consumers. NCFST has 
been successful in developing research programs, such as those related 
to low-moisture foods, and outreach programs, such as those related to 
sprout safety; these successes were achieved as a result of NCFST 
partnering with industry, academia, and FDA.
    NCFST is structured so that representatives of participating 
organizations play a role in establishing policy and administrative 
procedures, as well as identifying long- and short-term research needs. 
With this organizational structure, NCFST is able to build cooperative 
food safety programs on a foundation of knowledge about current 
industrial trends in food processing and packaging technologies, 
regulatory perspectives from public health organizations, and 
fundamental scientific expertise from academia. This award will improve 
public health by continued support of an applied research, education, 
and outreach program related to the safety of food processing 
technologies and processed foods.

B. Research Objectives

    FDA recognizes that food production and processing technology is 
rapidly changing, that globalization of the food supply is increasing, 
and that the number and nature of the hazards associated with foods is 
rapidly evolving. FDA intends to maintain and facilitate the further 
development of NCFST for the purpose of enhancing food safety to 
benefit the public. NCFST is uniquely positioned as a key component of 
FDA's food protection program. Specifically, through the Center's 
science platforms the research at NCFST focuses on the development and 
validation of food processing and packaging technologies for safety and 
quality; investigation and development of preventive technologies 
targeted to reduce or eliminate harmful chemical and microbial 
contamination of foods, and laboratory method performance (including 
method validation) to address issues associated with FDA-regulated 
products. Additionally the development of an integrated collaborative 
food protection research/education/outreach program will provide 
fundamental food safety information, in the public domain, for use by 
all segments of the food science community in product and process 
development, regulatory activities, academic programs, and consumer 
programs.

C. Eligibility Information

    Competition is limited to the Illinois Institute of Technology. FDA 
believes that continued support of NCFST at IIT is appropriate because 
IIT is uniquely qualified to fulfill the objectives of the proposed 
cooperative agreement. IIT's Moffett Center, where NCFST is located, is 
a unique research facility that includes an industrial-size pilot plant 
and smaller pilot plants for food processing and packaging equipment, a 
pathogen containment pilot plant, a packaging laboratory, analytical 
laboratories, offices, containment facilities, classrooms, a distance 
learning center, and support facilities, which permit research from 
bench top to industrial scale. The industrial-size pilot plant is built 
to accommodate routine food processing and packaging research in a 
commercial atmosphere. The physical layout of the facility provides 
maximum versatility in the use and arrangement of equipment of both 
commercial and pilot size, and in the capability to simultaneously 
operate several different pieces of equipment without interference with 
each other. Additionally, NCFST has a Biosafety Level 3 pilot plant and 
laboratory, as well as a select agent laboratory to conduct studies 
with Clostridium botulinum and other select agents.
    Since 1988, IIT has provided an environment in which scientists 
from diverse backgrounds such as academia, government, and industry 
have brought their unique perspectives to focus on contemporary issues 
of food safety. NCFST functions as a neutral ground where scientific 
exchange about generic food safety issues occurs freely and is 
channeled into the design of cooperative food safety programs. NCFST 
has become a center of cutting edge technologies, such as high pressure 
processing, cold plasma processing, pulsed electric field processing, 
pulsed light processing, high power ultrasound processing, microwave 
processing, and

[[Page 23361]]

ultraviolet light processing. Additional research at NCFST is focused 
on multiple areas associated with food safety, including but not 
limited to, validating cleaning processes to reduce allergen cross 
contact; research on effective cleaning and sanitizing processes for 
contaminated nut butter lines; research on the effectiveness of post-
harvest risk mitigation strategies for processing fresh produce; 
research on detection and recovery of viruses in foods; validating 
processes for C. botulinum control; and applications of nanotechnology.
    This cooperative research will fill existing gaps in knowledge and 
expertise associated with improving the safety of foods and will 
provide fundamental food safety information in the public domain for 
use by all segments of the food science community in product and 
process development, regulatory activities, academic programs, and 
consumer programs. A particular use of the research data by both 
industry and public health agencies is in development of the scientific 
basis for preventive control programs. Food manufacturers will use the 
information in the design of preventive control programs for use in 
their plants to reduce or eliminate food safety hazards before they 
occur and enhance the safety of the final product. Public health 
agencies can design investigational techniques to appropriately target 
food safety systems used by those who manufacture, process, pack, or 
hold food.
    In addition, IIT is the coordinator of the Food Safety Preventive 
Controls Alliance and the Sprouts Safety Alliance, leveraging the 
expertise of academia, industry, and FDA for the purpose of developing 
and delivering standardized curricula related to FDA Food Safety 
Modernization Act requirements. In addition to training, these 
Alliances will provide outreach and technical assistance to industry in 
the future.
    While not a component of the cooperative agreement, an integral 
part of the NCFST cooperative research program is the ability to 
leverage and provide hands-on experience in food safety for the next 
generation of food safety scientists through partnering with IIT's 
academic degree program in food safety and food processing sciences. 
The program produces graduates with a foundation in food science and 
technology with specialization in food safety. Graduates from this 
program will manage quality control, safety assurance, and Hazard 
Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) programs in industry. They 
will design equipment and processes for use in the production and 
packaging of safe food products. In the public sector, regulatory and 
other public health organizations, these graduates will evaluate the 
adequacy of processing and packaging parameters to produce safe end 
products and they will manage regulatory and information programs 
enhancing the safety of the food supply and consumer knowledge about 
the food supply.

II. Award Information/Funds Available

A. Award Amount

    CFSAN at FDA intends to fund one award up to $5 million for FY 
2014, with the possibility of 4 additional years of support, subject to 
the availability of funds. Future year amounts will depend on annual 
appropriations and successful performance. This cooperative agreement 
requires that the applicant share in the project costs if an award is 
made, including but not limited to, partial salary support for 
administrative staff and in-kind support (e.g., faculty salaries and 
facilities costs).

B. Length of Support

    The award will provide 1 year of support and include future 
recommended support for 4 additional years, 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 http://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 site 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.

    Dated: April 22, 2014.
Leslie Kux,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-09501 Filed 4-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P