Grants / Department of Health and Human Services / Food and Drug Administration

RFA-FD-24-018: Produce Safety Alliance-U01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed

Closed Closed February 29, 2024 Opportunity RFA-FD-24-018 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Flexible Funding Model - Advancing Domestic Mutual Reliance Through Strengthened Infrastructure Development and Maintenance for Manufactured Food Regulatory Programs (PAR-27-017). Status: Rolling or no fixed deadline. It is in our archive of Food and Drug Administration notices from 2023.

• Award ceiling$5.0 million
• Total funding$1.0 million
• Expected awards1
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Only the following organization is eligible to apply: Cornell University Foreign Institutions Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the HHS Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Food and Drug Administration Research awards averaged $1.3 million; this notice allows up to $5.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (35% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The purpose of the opportunity is to continue to provide the produce industry and associate groups (e.g., regulators, auditors, extension educators, consumers, etc.) with training and educational opportunities related to current best practices and guidance, and current and future regulatory requirements by maintaining the “Produce Safety Alliance” (PSA). Objective 1: Maintain a standardized, multi-format, multi-lingual training and education program to assist the produce industry (including growers and packers) and regulatory agencies with the implementation of FDA’s requisite produce safety regulation and in understanding the public health and environmental benefits of co-management and to integrate food safety and environment co-management principles in implementing FDA’s produce safety regulation. Update the standardized curriculum to incorporate published FDA guidance applicable to the PSR or new PSR rulemaking. Objective 2: Maintain a Train-the-Trainer curriculum to ensure that a national group of qualified instructors is available to deliver the program. Maintain a Lead Training application and review process, and a Trainer of Trainer process, in both English and Spanish. Objective 3: Providing educational outreach assistance to fresh produce growers and packers, including grower cooperatives, to increase their understanding of the critical role they play in public health via implementation of on-farm and packing house GAPs, on-farm environmental coordinated management (co-management), and other preventive controls. Objective 4: Conduct an ongoing formal evaluation of the effectiveness of the training. Conduct research through this evaluation including data collection and analysis to assess the PSA course impact, trainer effectiveness, and need for course modifications to improve participant understanding of the Produce Safety Rule and Good Agricultural Practices, and enhance training based on evaluation findings. Continue to assess the adequacy of existing educational outreach tools, identify gaps, and fill and update as necessary. Objective 5: Engage with FDA and other FDA partners to advance efforts related to international audiences, including participation in grower trainings, produce safety summits, and other educational activities related to prevention plans, Trainer-of-Trainers trainings and the Lead Trainer application/review process, and mentoring of international trainers.

Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, PAR-27-017, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.