California Rapid Response Team 2023-2026 (CalFERT) - maintenance

CalFERT – RRT Maintenance – RFA-FD-23-019 Project Summary/Abstract The mission of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Food and Drug Branch (FDB), Food Investigations and Technical Support Section (FITSS) is to ensure the safety of the food supply through effective prevention, intervention, and response programs. As a means of accomplishing this mission, FDB has developed strong inspection and enforcement programs, industry education and training programs, and food emergency response programs. The primary objective of our proposal is to continue maintenance of California’s best practices for a high-quality regulatory program to enhance food safety. This entails continued interagency collaboration, cooperation, and communication; maintenance and sustainment of conformance with the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS); maintenance and sustainment of California’s Food Emergency Response Team (CalFERT) activities to food and feed emergencies, and continued strengthening, coordination and interactions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other states’ food safety and rapid response team (RRT) programs. Under this proposal, we are requesting $300,000 in grant funds for each of the next three years. Authorized grant funds will be used to augment current FITSS capabilities and maintain the necessary infrastructure to continue sustainment of CalFERT. If funding is offered, CalFERT will use these funds to support the salary of two staff members. These individuals, along with a team of five additional staff, will work on maintaining and enhancing the program’s ability to conduct investigations, evironmental assessments, tracebacks, and enforcement activities. CalFERT staff have received Incident Command System (ICS) training and will continue to use a modified version of ICS that will result in a more efficient statewide human and animal food protection system, maximize public health protection, and contribute to the National Integrated Food Safety System.