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The Food and Drug Administration announces its intention to accept and consider a single source application for award to the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Building Research Capacity in Global Tobacco Product Regulation Program. The purpose of the Program is to identify, support, develop, conduct, and coordinate research efforts relating to tobacco control laws and rules in foreign countries that will directly inform and support FDA's exercise of its authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, marketing and sale of tobacco products in the United States. The Program will advance FDA's Center for Tobacco Products' (CTP's) mission by utilizing the World Health Organization's (WHO) Member States' expertise and extensive international contacts in global tobacco control, as well as WHO's own programmatic expertise, to inform and support adequate manufacture, distribution and market regulations of tobacco products for the protection of public health in the United States. The Program will also provide a universal public benefit by creating opportunities for collaboration and research development globally, thereby resulting in better-informed and effective tobacco product regulation around the world, and increased knowledge in the public sphere regarding tobacco use and its harms globally.

FDA is announcing its intention to receive and consider a single source application for the award of a cooperative agreement in fiscal year 2018 to the University of California-Davis (UC Davis) to support the Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS). The purposes of this continued support are to 1. Carry out multidisciplinary applied research that addresses "real world" issues related to food safety and food defense, agricultural practices, and the impact of agricultural practices on subsequent food processing associated with FDA-regulated products; 2. Develop and implement outreach and communication programs with stakeholders to identify research needs and to facilitate the utilization of the knowledge produced by the research program; 3. Provide opportunities to leverage additional resources among U.S. government agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, industry, and consumers to achieve real-world solutions that address food safety and food defense issues. 4. Support the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) through research, education, and outreach with particular emphasis on the science behind the standards associated with the produce safety and preventive controls regulation.

Given the importance of the region in exporting human food to the United States, FDA proposes working with a multilateral institution in the region, specifically the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), to develop an expert cadre to foster FSMA standards implementation. IICA has been a strong U.S. government partner in Latin America and the Caribbean and can effectively play a pivotal role in FSMA training in the region. The activities undertaken under this Cooperative Agreement would be targeted to training FDA's regulatory counterparts who commit to doing further training in their respective countries, academia, and industry representatives. By training regulators, IICA would be providing up-to-date information on FDA FSMA requirements, as well as good agricultural practice knowledge. If regulators or appropriate government institutions become trainers of the Alliance curriculum, they could possibly offer the training at lower costs, which can be a prohibitive factor for smaller business entities in understanding and implementing FSMA produce safety standards.

This project is authorized by the following legislation: 7 USC 3291, International agricultural research, extension, and teaching, authorizes the Secretary in part (a) to (1) exchange research materials and results with the institutions or persons, and (5) work with transitional and more advanced countries in food, agricultural, and related research, development, teaching, and extension (including providing technical assistance, training, and advice to persons from the countries engaged in the activities and the stationing of scientists and other specialists at national and international institutions in the countries). The Office of Agreements and Scientific Affairs (OASA), International Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD) is a division of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. IRSD's strategic goals are to monitor and enforce Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) obligations in accordance to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) SPS Agreement, to advance the adoption of science-based international standards and regulations, and to coordinate with other U. S. government agencies to support United States Government's (USG) SPS priorities. OASA works with a number of other U.S. government agencies (e.g., U.S. Trade Representative, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Commerce, and USDA sister agencies), international organizations, and industry to promote the trade of safe food products globally.

A. Purpose and Priorities The National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Program will award grants that increase the understanding and adoption of established food safety standards, guidance, and protocols. Grants awarded through this program will be carried out in a manner that facilitates the integration of food safety standards and guidance with a variety of agricultural production systems, including conventional, sustainable, organic, and conservation and environmental practices carried out by the eligible entities. The assistance provided by these programs, to the extent practicable, shall be coordinated with and delivered in cooperation with similar services or assistance by other federal agencies or programs serving those eligible entities. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) have joined in a collaborative partnership to administer and manage the National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Program. This program is designed to develop a comprehensive food safety training, education and technical assistance program for those affected by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Specifically, this program will address the needs of owners and operators of small and medium-sized farms, beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged farmers, small processors, and small fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers. The joint program will award competitive grant funds that enable awardees to establish a National Coordination Center (NCC) for Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance and Regional Centers (RC) for Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance across the country for food safety training, education, and technical assistance. Project Teams for the RCs will reach out into local communities to work wi

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued to announce the availability of a Cooperative Agreement designed to assist the FDA in developing, implementing, and improving a nationally consistent system of support which facilitates the implementation of state and territorial produce safety regulatory programs that are modernized and aligned with the standards set forth in the FDA's Regulation: "Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption" (commonly referred to as the Produce Safety Rule). This goal shall be accomplished in partnership with the FDA by identifying, generating, sharing, and leveraging resources and information which aid in the development and implementation of national, state, and territorial produce safety regulatory programs that are nationally uniform and consistent with the Produce Safety Rule, and which improve their effectiveness and enhance their capabilities.

The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program supports research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal, plant, and invertebrate symbionts, pathogens and pests. This joint NSF-NIFA program supports projects focused on current and emerging model and non-model systems, and agriculturally relevant plants. The program's scope extends from fundamental mechanisms to translational efforts, with the latter seeking to put into agricultural practice insights gained from basic research on the mechanisms that govern plant biotic interactions. Projects must be strongly justified in terms of fundamental biological processes and/or relevance to agriculture and may be purely fundamental or applied, or include aspects of both perspectives. All types of symbiosis are appropriate, including commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and host-pathogen interactions. Research may focus on the biology of the plant host, its pathogens, pests or symbionts, interactions among these, or on the function of plant-associated microbiomes. The program welcomes proposals on the dynamics of initiation, transmission, maintenance and outcome of these complex associations, including studies of metabolic interactions, immune recognition and signaling, host-symbiont regulation, reciprocal responses among interacting species and mechanisms associated with self/non-self recognition such as those in pollen-pistil interactions.

The Plant Biotic Interactions (PBI) program supports research on the processes that mediate beneficial and antagonistic interactions between plants and their viral, bacterial, oomycete, fungal, plant, and invertebrate symbionts, pathogens and pests. This joint NSF/NIFA program supports projects focused on current and emerging model and non-model systems, and agriculturally relevant plants. The program's scope extends from fundamental mechanisms to translational efforts, with the latter seeking to put into agricultural practice insights gained from basic research on the mechanisms that govern plant biotic interactions. Projects must be strongly justified in terms of fundamental biological processes and/or relevance to agriculture and may be purely fundamental or applied or include aspects of both perspectives. All types of symbiosis are appropriate, including commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, and host-pathogen interactions. Research may focus on the biology of the plant host, its pathogens, pests or symbionts, interactions among these, or on the function of plant-associated microbiomes. The program welcomes proposals on the dynamics of initiation, transmission, maintenance and outcome of these complex associations, includingstudies of metabolic interactions, immune recognition and signaling, host-symbiont regulation, reciprocal responses among interacting species and mechanisms associated with self/non-self recognition such as those in pollen-pistil interactions. Explanatory frameworks shouldinclude molecular, genomic, metabolic, cellular, network and organismal processes, with projects guided by hypothesis and/or discovery driven experimental approaches. Strictly ecological projects that do not address underlying mechanisms are not appropriate for this program. Quantitative modeling in concert with experimental work is encouraged. Overall, the program seeks to support research that will deepen our understanding of the fundamental processes that mediate interact

This Cooperative Agreement's purpose is to obtain information to assist States in improving their efforts to address animal food safety by aligning their requirements and enforcement mechanisms with those of FDA.  Better knowledge of State capabilities and intentions also will assist FDA in planning for implementation of its PCAF rule.  The information will assist FDA and States in making long term improvements to the national integrated food safety system by strengthening federal and State collaboration and enhancing State program capacity and capability relating to animal food safety.