Path B Produce Safety Cooperative Agreement Program 2021-2026

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PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACT Project Title: The FDA’s Cooperative Agreement Program for States and Territories to Implement a National Produce Safety Program Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number: PAR-21-174 - Path B Jul 1, 2021 – Jun 30, 2026 Project Background: Outbreaks of illness caused by consumption of fruits and vegetables (produce) contaminated with disease-causing microorganisms have a measurable and important negative effect on public health in the US, due to costs of medical treatment, loss of productivity, and, in too many instances, mortality. The FDA has promulgated a Produce Safety Rule intended to foster the implementation of preventive measures that reduce the likelihood of microbial contamination throughout the produce industry. Broad compliance with this rule will require education, outreach, technical assistance, inspection, and enforcement activities beyond the scope of existing FDA programs. State food safety regulatory agencies can assist the FDA in this public health initiative by leveraging existing programmatic resources to create state-run produce safety regulatory programs. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has worked to implement the Produce Safety Regulatory Program (PSRP) in Wisconsin for the past five (5) years and desires to continue. Project Goals: The goal of this project, DATCP’s Produce Safety Regulatory Program (PSRP), is to expand DATCP’s capacity to educate and promote further implementation of the Produce Safety Rule to diverse members of the Wisconsin agricultural community. Project personnel will: 1) continue to perform a jurisdictional self-assessment to determine available and needed resources, 2) develop a dynamic inventory of produce farms in Wisconsin that are subject to the Produce Safety Rule, 3) continue to improve and create educational, outreach, and technical assistance programs to guide grower compliance, and 4) develop the infrastructure, along with inspection and compliance procedures, necessary to implement a fair, effective, efficient, and sustainable produce safety regulatory program.