Michigan Food Emergency Response Capacity Development: A Partnership of Local, St

<p>SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Proposal The referenced funding opportunity announcement focuses on improving collective actions taken to protect the public when unsafe foods are identified. MDARD's proposal would support the development of a national integrated food safety system by conducting a pilot project to better coordinate multi-agency food emergency response actions in Michigan. Proposed activities include: 1) better aligning local, state, and federal food emergency preparedness activities consistent with the National Incident Management Preparedness cycle, and 2) providing role appropriate on-the-job training to food emergency responders. The International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) would advise participants during job task analyses and development of basic on-the-job training modules to ensure consistency with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vision for an integrated training and certification system. Michigan is uniquely positioned to complete this collaborative project, being a border state (home of the second busiest truck border crossing point in the nation) that has weathered tough economic times and government downsizing. State and federal agencies in Michigan have a proven track record of working together to achieve effective results - including ongoing participation in the FDA Rapid Response Team (RRT) Implementation Project. This proposal would link local public health agencies with the successful RRT capacity development process. The grant will use a combination of process and outcome metrics to assess progress towards identified capacity building goals. Michigan staff hold leadership positions in arrange of partnerships, initiatives, and associations at the local, state, regional, and national levels. These leadership roles will help ensure that the project is aligned with other national initiatives and that lessons learned and best practices identified are shared throughout Michigan, the Great Lakes region and the nation as a whole.</p>