Expanding Ohio's Testing Capability and Capacity to Support a National Integrated Food Safety System

About This Grant

Expanding Ohio’s Testing Capability and Capacity to Support a National Integrated Food Safety System Overall Component Project Summary / Abstract The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Consumer Protection Laboratory (CPL) and Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (ADDL) will strengthen the national food supply chain and enhance federal and state regulatory effectiveness in food safety and defense, supporting the Food Safety Modernization Act and the Food Emergency Response Network. The agency proposes to participate in all chemical and microbiological US FDA initiated food defense activities related to animal or human food including proficiency tests, surveillance activities, triage exercises, national security event exercises and any other testing as requested by the FDA where suspected or credible threats to the food supply are present. CPL will maintain operational readiness in supplies, instrumentation and personnel should they be activated for a rapid response. ODA-CPL will also participate in state-initiated product testing of human and animal food products, testing up to 7,000 samples over five years for microbiological and chemical targets according to FDA directed commodity/hazard pairs. ODA-CPL will incorporate and implement routine Hepatitis A / norovirus screening and incorporate additional non-targeted toxin testing in human or animal food products. ODA-ADDL will enhance the FDA’s GenomeTrakr network and the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s Pathogen databases through Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) and uploading of at least 400 different human food, animal food or environmental isolates, providing support for other state and federal partners and participating in any method validation studies as requested. ODA-CPL is committed to participating in up to two method development activities per discipline per year when funded, and intends to increase capacity and capability of both disciplines through equipment refreshes, automation, instrumental upgrades and entirely new technology. Based on the current funding opportunity, the agency requests $1,331,100 in project period 1 for samples, supplies, payroll, services and equipment as needed to support all projects proposed and up to $6,000,000 in additional funding as currently offered by FDA for the remaining project periods.