Development and Maintenance of Human and Animal Food Rapid Response Teams for the State of Indiana

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Project Summary/Abstract: Over the next three years, the Indiana Rapid Response Team (IN RRT) aims to enhance all aspects of response related to human and animal food emergencies. The overall RRT concept includes steps prior incidents, such as relationship building with stakeholders, training, preparedness, and surveillance sampling. During food incidents environmental assessments are conducted, as well as product and/or environmental sampling. Follow-up actions, include mitigation/control steps, prevention, after-action reviews, and improvement plans. By offering more specific and advanced response-related trainings and exercises, the IN RRT will continue to foster preparedness across a network of agencies that stand ready to respond to human and animal food emergencies and incidents. Specifically, such exercises will help advance a more robust, scalable, and flexible Incident Command Structure (ICS) that can be used during small-scale and large-scale events. Staff will be trained in position-specific roles to solidify the ICS along with working roles and responsibilities. In addition, the Foodborne Illness Working Group will be utilized to enhance interagency communication and increase capacity. Core capabilities that are currently in place will be improved, added upon, and strengthened as will relationships within and between agencies. The IN RRT foodborne illness response process of environmental assessments, sampling, information sharing, and mitigation actions will aid in reducing and eliminating repeated outbreaks. In post- response and prevention phases, the IN RRT will address gaps in procedures identified during after- action reviews related to outbreak and incident responses. The information gathered from the after- action reviews will guide the development and implementation of an on-going Improvement Plan as well as any necessary updates to SOPs to allow for greater preparedness for future food emergencies. The IN RRT is an integral part of the nation's integrated Food Safety System by contributing data to CDCs NEARS and NORS platforms as well as presenting ideas and findings at national and regional conferences. As the ability and preparedness of IN RRT is increased, a more rapid and efficient response to human and animal food emergencies will result, the significance of which will be the reduction of the scope and duration of outbreaks, thus reducing the burden placed upon Indiana’s public health system. Throughout the upcoming project period, the IN RRT will continue regular meetings with laboratory and epidemiological partners as well as nurture relationships with other state agencies, local/county partners, academia, industry, law enforcement, other states, and the FDA. This increased collaboration will aid information and skill sharing with the objective of enhanced readiness.