Conformance with the Manufactred Foods Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS)

<p>Summary/Abstract: The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) meets all the criteria for eligibility of funding under this grant. The DSHS Regulatory Services Division serves as the state's regulatory manufactured foods program and holds a current U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food inspection contract. In 2009, DSHS was awarded funding under Grant # 1U18FDA003835-01-Food Protection Rapid Response Team and Program Infrastructure Prototype Project (RRT). During the 4 year RRT grant period (September 2009 - August 2013) DSHS has been working toward full compliance with the Manufactured Foods Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS). The program has made extensive progress toward compliance with the ten standards since the grant was awarded in the fall of2009. At the first assessment, DSHS partially met nine standards, and fully met standard 9. In July 2011, DSHS completed an FDA Program Assessment Verification Audit. As of May 2013, the DSHS fully meets 4 of the 10 standards (Standards 3, 7, 8, and 9). Of the remaining 6 standards, 4 of them only need minor improvements to complete (Standards 1, 2, 4, and 5). Standard 6, one of the most challenging for DSHS will be the focus of our work during the next grant period. The DSHS Laboratory is seeking AL2A accreditation and upon completion in 2017, DSHS will meet Standard 10. Over the next 5 year grant period DSHS proposes to continue work on the standards that are not yet in full compliance as well as make enhancements to those in compliance. The focus will primarily be on Standards 5 and 6. In addition to the milestones outlined in the PAR-13-164, DSHS will be working toward full compliance with Standard 6 through enhancements to a mobile inspection project which most importantly will allow DSHS to track chronic violations, but will also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall program. While DSHS fully intends to have completed the first phase of the mobile inspection project and be insubstantial compliance with Standard 6 by August 31, 2014, DSHS expects enhancements will be needed to the program following the pilot and first release. One enhancement being proposed is a bridge between the DSHS laboratory data systems and the regulatory data system to track sample submission and results more efficiently and effectively. DSHS will also be working on enhancements to Standard 5 to include specialized training for local health department epidemiologists in case interviews and developing a protocol for working with local health departments during food borne illness investigations. The goal is to utilize work done by other states in local health department outreach to develop and improve relations with our local partners. Finally, DSHS will work on improving communications with industry partners.</p>