Increasing capability and capacity in an integrated food safety collaboration

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Specific Aims The Arkansas Public Health Laboratory (APHL) at the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) has been an active member of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) since 2009. The APHL proposes to continue its participation as a part of the chemistry cooperative agreement by providing readiness in support of food defense, increasing capability and capacity through the application of new methodologies and expansion of current FERN methods, and being integrated with FDA, state, and local laboratories to provide food safety and security. The mission of the APHL is to protect Arkansans through quality laboratory science, leadership, and innovation. As a member of the FERN cooperative agreement, the APHL is fulfilling its duty to the state and proposes to continue to do so with the support of FERN. The specific aims of this proposal are: 1) Maintain readiness for food defense. 2) Conduct surveillance of food commodities of interest. 3) Increase capability by implementing and validating new technologies and methodologies. These aims align the state and FDA initiatives regarding food safety and security. Specifically, the APHL proposes to meet these specific aims through the following FERN Tracks: • Discipline B: Chemistry. Analytical Track 1: Food Defense. • Discipline B: Chemistry. Analytical Track 2: Human Food Product Testing. • Discipline B: Chemistry. Analytical Track 4: Chemistry Capability/Capacity Development. The mutual reliance between the APHL and FDA serves both state and national interests by relying upon an integrated food safety collaboration. The APHL proposes to continue this collaboration to surveil and protect the local and national food supply.