Progress of Strategies Developed and Implemented by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for MFRPS Maintenance and Food Protection Task Force

Overall Project Summary/Abstract
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) is seeking funding from
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under RFA-FD-23-027 to support the maintenance of
Virginia’s Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS) and Food Protection Task Force
(FPTF) Projects. The VDACS Food Safety Program meets all eligibility requirements for this funding
opportunity, has a current food safety inspection contract with the FDA, and an active FPTF. The amount
of funding requested is $306,000 per year, a total of $918,000 over the three-year project period.
Since first obtaining these funds in 2009, the VDACS Food Safety Program has made great strides
to advance efforts toward a nationally integrated food safety system supported by high-quality
regulatory programs. Virginia’s Manufactured Food Program achieved full implementation and full
conformance of all ten standards in August 2019. A reduced-scale, remote audit of Standards 2, 3, and 6
was conducted in July 2021. The results of the assessment indicated that the VDACS Food Safety
Program maintained full conformance status with the 2016 MFRPS. The Program has a current food
safety inspection contract with the FDA and has maintained this contract for several years. Furthermore,
the Program’s Field Operations Manual (FOM) that contains the procedures used by the field staff to
perform their duties was created and implemented in line with the MFRPS.
The Virginia FPTF’s diverse membership is comprised of stakeholders from across the state and
includes representatives from VDACS, the Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Division of
Consolidated Laboratory Services, Virginia Tech, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration. The VA FPTF continues to extend membership invitations to stakeholders from
regulatory agencies, industry, academia, and consumer groups; works to develop educational support
training/exercise opportunities; and hosts periodic educational and training opportunities regarding
pertinent food safety topics for the Commonwealth.

Grant Number: 5U2FFD008092-03
NIH Institute/Center: FDA
Principal Investigator: Rashelly Bland