AFDO Deliverables FDA Cooperative Agreement

Yvonne SalfingerJune 12, 2013

Consultants AFDO has contracted Yvonne Salfinger, Retired

Bureau Chief, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Food Laboratories to lead AFDO in the effort to integrate state food labs and assist them in the accreditation efforts.

Ron Klein started as the AFDO Program Director effective April 2013. Ron is a Retired Program Manager Food Safety and

Sanitation, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Environmental Health who also served as Acting Chief, Alaska Environmental Health Laboratory.

Specific Aim #2:Identify, pilot test, and implement nationally the policies and procedures necessary to establish equivalency between federal, state, and local food and feed testing laboratories.

Specific Aim #2Activity 2: Registry Work Group

Convene a Registry Work Group to establish a web-based easily searchable Subject Matter Expert (SME) registry drawing membership from APHL, AAFCO, AFDO and FDA if appropriate.

The AFDO Laboratory, Science and Technology Committee-populate SME registry with food laboratory officials from state and local programs.

http://www.afdo.org/sme. This database will continue to grow with

contributions from AFDO, APHL, and FDA.

Specific Aim #2Activity 2: DSLO The Directory of State and Local Officials

(DSLO) now has a separate link for laboratory directors on the main page; the laboratory directors are listed in alphabetical order by state.

http://dslo.afdo.org/

Specific Aim #2Activity 2-continued The entire SME directory must be kept

current or it will be of no use. Discussion has occurred, and AFDO is developing a process to review and contact SMEs on a periodic basis to ensure up-to-date information is contained for the SME registry.

Process in place already for DSLO.

Specific Aim #4-Unified ResponseFacilitate the implementation of a national framework for a unified laboratory response to emerging food or animal feed safety emergencies or other issues of public health significance based on the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS), the guidelines published by the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR) and other standards recognized by the Secretary.

Specific Aim #4Activity 1Establish a network of Food and Animal feed regulatory laboratory managers: DSLO: the primary contact communication

resource available to food protection officials.

DSLO will allow cooperating organizations to build a laboratory managers network, conduct surveys, identify training needs, and provide information as needed to food and feed testing laboratories.

Specific Aim #4Activity 1-continued Laboratory Directors Steering Committee has been developed by AFDO.

Meet every 2 weeks by conference call, and will meet in-person at the

AFDO Annual Educational Conference. This group was established as a lead for the purposes of enhancing the

program standards, implementing accreditation, promoting national integration, recommending needed changes, and promoting the standards and accreditation in jurisdictions where they have yet to be employed.

Members: Dan Rice, Audrey Pilkington, Steve Sobek, Denise Toney, Patryce McKinney, Shera Hickman, Dirk Shoemaker, Kevin Armbrust, Barbara Baker

Yvonne Salfinger is participating as a consultant with AFDO, as well as Ron Klein, AFDO Program Director.

Tim McGrath and Don Burr-FDA

Specific Aim #4Activity 2Conduct surveys of State/Local/Tribal Food and Feed Testing Laboratories: No AFDO activity at this time Survey was conducted by the Sampling

and Sample Handling Working Group. Survey conducted by APHL on

accreditation status through AgLabs listserv.

Specific Aim #4Activity 3Provide Task-Oriented Guidelines, as needed, to address issues that can be adopted or into regulatory laboratory programs: AFDO’s Canned Food Defect Guidelines

booklet, recently updated and imported into a Smart phone/Android APP for widespread publication.

AFDO Issues and Concerns with Imported Foods (June 2013) also a laboratory resource.

Specific Aim #4Activity 4Identify and Support Pilot laboratory programs in States as needed to support implementation of regulatory program standards, accreditation, and integration. No pilot programs for states have been

identified at this time. AFDO, APHL, and AAFCO will continue to support state efforts for complying with program standards and laboratory accreditation.

Specific Aim #4Activity 5Community Building/Networking: Briefings and updates on this effort have been

provided to: 6 AFDO Affiliates International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI) National Association of State Departments of Agriculture

(NASDA) Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE) National Association of State Meat & Food Inspection

Association and a food industry private sector strategic planning

session.

Specific Aim #4Activity 5-continued The AFDO Annual Educational Conference June 9-12, 2013 will pull

together 50 participants from the United States laboratory and regulatory community to discuss accreditation efforts of food and feed testing laboratories.

A Focus Group of 30 participants will discuss Quality Management Systems, including document control. These forums, along with the Laboratory, Science, and Technology Committee meeting on the Sunday before the main conference beings, will enhance this Activity and the Specific Aim.

The Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Alliance meeting held March 18-21, 2013 provided a forum for laboratories to network with regulatory and other laboratory staff across the country.

At the MFRPA, a meeting was held for the laboratory participants, providing a good discussion forum for issues relating to the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards and best practices for implementation.

Specific Aim #4Activity 6Training AFDO, APHL, and AAFCO will conduct training as

needed to advance laboratory accreditation, adoption of program standards, and building laboratory systems into the national integrated food safety effort. IFPTI has been consulted and will assist in training where needed.

Current FDA/IFPTI training programs where engagement of laboratory officials is necessary is FD170 Applications Course and the Integrated Food Safety System training program and Toolkit.

Specific Aim #4Activity 6-continued

AFDO/IFPTI: develop a curriculum framework (similar to the IFPTI Curriculum Framework for Regulatory Food Protection Professionals) to identify career-spanning training for food and feed laboratory professionals.

1. Curriculum framework diagram: A depiction of the professional development content areas that represent training that food and feed laboratory professionals should participate in over their careers.2. Curriculum framework content area descriptions: A written description developed by the AFDO subject matter expert team, identifying the subject matter included in the content area.

Specific Aim #4Activity 7In support of FSMA, work with FDA to establish operational partnerships that assist in the capacity building of state and local agencies as well as establishing and implementing strategies for improving state and local food safety efforts.

Specific Aim #5Provide forums, including national and international meetings, to improve communication and collaboration between federal, state, and local food and animal feed testing laboratories and their associated regulatory and public health programs.

Specific Aim #5Activity 1Convene national calls with respective members around emergency events. Ensure effective communication with relevant experts and stakeholders. AFDO routinely convenes national calls with

respective members that relate to important food protection episodes.

The Laboratory Managers Steering Committee is meeting by phone call every 2 weeks and provides a forum with regular communication.

Specific Aim #5Activity 2Convene national scientific or programmatic conferences and forums, as funding allows and in consultation with FDA Project Officer. Conduct training for food and feed laboratory program managers during at least one of the participating association’s annual meeting.

AFDO Lab Forums 2013 The AFDO Laboratory, Science and Technology Committee met during

the MFRPA which was held in March 2013 in St. Louis, MO. The AFDO Laboratory, Science and Technology Committee will meet

during the 1st day of the AFDO Annual Educational Conference on Sunday, June 9, 2013.

A focus group meeting for laboratory directors and quality assurance staff will be held June 11, 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky along with the AFDO Annual Educational Conference.

A half-day laboratory accreditation session for laboratory directors and quality assurance staff will be held June 12, 2013 in Louisville Kentucky in conjunction with the AFDO Annual Educational Conference.

The Laboratory Managers Steering Committee is meeting by conference call every 2 weeks, and will meet in person at the AFDO Annual Educational Conference on June 11, 2013.

Developing the curriculum described in AIM#4 with IFPTI provides an additional forum for laboratory directors to participate as a group.

Specific Aim #5Activity 3Convene meetings of new or active association committees and subcommittees to provide support for the proposed Cooperative Agreement.

Specific Aim #5Activity 4Support staff and member travel to external meetings and conferences

Specific Aim #5Activity 5Conduct regular meetings of the Steering Committee for this Cooperative Agreement. AFDO staff participates in monthly calls

with the Steering Committee. Routine meetings are conducted

regularly and weekly calls of all AFDO staff associated with this cooperative agreement are held.

Specific Aim #7-Consensus BuildingForm national consensus with Federal and State regulatory officials on the acceptance of laboratory data and for the coordination of laboratory resources in response to emerging food and animal feed issues of public and animal health significance.

Specific Aim #7-continued AFDO and the AFDO Laboratory, Science and

Technology Committee will work closely with FDA and the Partnership for Food Protection [PFP] to assure acceptance of laboratory data from testing conducted at state and local laboratories for the purpose of advancing a national integrated food safety system. Dan Rice, current co-chair of the committee is on the PFP Governing Council.

New Activity: AFDO Program Director , Ron Klein will promote communication and collaboration between the MFRPA and state laboratory officials for issues pertaining to Standard 10 of MFRPA Standards.

Laboratory Steering Committee members Denise Toney Steve Sobeck Kevin Armbrust Patryce McKinney Shera Hickman Dirk Shoemaker Barbara Baker Audrey Pilkington Dan Rice Yvonne Salfinger Tim McGrath/Don Burr (FDA)