Rhode Island's Plan to Enhance, Implement, and Sustain an All-Hazards Food Emergency Response Team

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RI Department of Health Title: Food Protection Rapid Response Team (RRT) (U18) Funding Opportunity Announcement Number (FOA): RFA-FD-15-020 Project Summary/Abstract Base Award: The Rhode Island Department of Health proposes to enhance and maintain the capabilities of their all-hazards food emergency Rapid Response Team (RRT) and continue to identify and eliminate foodborne illness hazards that pose a threat nationally. The team will continue to conform to the RRT Best Practices and plans to advance to Phase 3 of the Capability Building Process by ensuring that all required SOPs are documented, followed, and updated as required. Additional staff will be integrated into the RRT concept and trained to ensure effective response and sustainability over time. The team will continue to collaborate closely with the Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, State Health Laboratory, RI Department of Environmental Management, Division of Agriculture, other state partners and federal partners to improve the effectiveness of multi-agency responses and reduce the burden of food related illnesses. Specifically, the RRT aims to improve the use of a Unified Command structure to ensure effective response and communication among these parties during emergency response. Innovative approaches in investigating the cost-effectiveness of listeria case follow-up and responding to food recall events are proposed to help others’ respond effectively during related events. Other activities planned include mentoring a non-funded RRT, performing environmental assessments, calculating performance metrics, and incorporating the findings of After Action Reviews into continuous plans for improvement. These activities will ensure the capabilities the RRT has gained will continue to advance and are sustained beyond this funding cycle. Elective Funding Opportunity: In support of the coming FDA produce regulations, the RRT aims to better understand the extent to which domestic and imported produce contributes to Salmonella and Campylobacter illnesses in Rhode Island and nationally. This will be achieved by identifying, classifying, and ranking Rhode Island Farms as high versus low risk and sampling high risk products throughout the year. Staff will be trained in farm environmental assessments and a systems approach will be followed to ensure effective long-term controls are in place. In support of these initiatives, we will work closely with the FDA District Office to share best practices to reduce the time it takes to identify positive samples, gather the necessary traceback documentation, and implement effective control measures.