Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA FD 23 021
This funding opportunity is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cooperative agreement intended to continue supporting the Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS) at the University of California, Davis. It is a discretionary grant mechanism (cooperative agreement, U19) under a Food and Nutrition activity category, and it explicitly states that clinical trials are not allowed. The FDA indicates it plans to accept and consider only a single-source application, meaning the award is effectively intended for UC Davis rather than being a broadly competed solicitation.
The central goal of the award is to keep WCFS operating as a multidisciplinary hub focused on practical, real-world food safety and food defense problems tied to FDA-regulated products. A major emphasis is applied research that connects what happens on the farm to downstream food safety outcomes during handling, processing, and distribution. The work is meant to address how agricultural practices influence contamination risks and how those risks can carry over into later processing steps, with the aim of producing findings that can be used in operational settings rather than purely academic results.
A second major component is outreach, communication, and education. Beyond producing research, the center is expected to translate findings into usable knowledge for stakeholders, which can include growers, processors, regulators, and other parties involved in the food system. This involves building and delivering communication programs that help ensure the research is not just published, but actually adopted in practice through training materials, guidance-oriented resources, stakeholder engagement, and other dissemination approaches.
The opportunity also prioritizes partnership-building and resource leveraging. WCFS is expected to function as a convening organization that can bring together and coordinate efforts across federal, state, and local government agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, industry groups, and consumer interests. The intent is to align expertise and resources to accelerate workable solutions to food safety and food defense challenges, especially those that require cross-sector collaboration to implement effectively.
A key policy driver in the announcement is support for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The cooperative agreement is meant to strengthen FSMA implementation through research, education, and outreach, with particular focus on the scientific basis for standards associated with the Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls regulations. In practice, that means generating and communicating evidence that can inform preventive approaches, risk reduction practices, and science-based standards that are directly relevant to compliance and public health protection.
From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number RFA-FD-23-021, created on December 19, 2022, with an original closing date of March 3, 2023. The expected number of awards is one, consistent with the single-source intent. The award ceiling is listed as $3,000,000. The listing is associated with CFDA/Assistance Listing number 93.103 and is offered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration. Eligibility is described as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full announcement, but the narrative makes clear the application is intended to come from UC Davis for WCFS continued support.
Overall, this cooperative agreement is designed to sustain a long-running, applied, science-to-practice center that conducts multidisciplinary food safety research, turns that research into actionable guidance and training, builds multi-stakeholder partnerships, and advances FSMA-related prevention and compliance through strong scientific support and broad dissemination.Apply for RFA FD 23 021
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement to Support the Western Center for Food Safety (U19) Clinical Trials Not Allowed" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.103.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 19, 2022.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 03, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Funding Opportunity FAQs (RFA-FD-23-021)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cooperative agreement intended to continue supporting the Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS) at the University of California, Davis.
Which agency is offering the award?
The award is offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
What is the funding mechanism and award type?
The mechanism is a discretionary grant in the form of a cooperative agreement, identified as U19.
What activity area does this opportunity fall under?
The opportunity is categorized under Food and Nutrition.
Are clinical trials allowed under this award?
No. The opportunity explicitly states that clinical trials are not allowed.
Is this a competitive opportunity open to multiple applicants?
No. FDA indicates it plans to accept and consider only a single-source application, meaning the award is effectively intended for UC Davis to support WCFS rather than a broadly competed solicitation.
How many awards does FDA expect to make?
The expected number of awards is one.
What is the maximum funding amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling is listed as $3,000,000.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number?
The Funding Opportunity Number is RFA-FD-23-021.
When was this opportunity created and what was the original closing date?
It was created on December 19, 2022, and the original closing date was March 3, 2023.
What is the Assistance Listing (CFDA) number associated with this opportunity?
The listing is associated with CFDA/Assistance Listing number 93.103.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is described as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full announcement. However, the narrative indicates the application is intended to come from the University of California, Davis for continued WCFS support.
What is the overall purpose of the cooperative agreement?
The central goal is to keep WCFS operating as a multidisciplinary hub focused on practical, real-world food safety and food defense problems tied to FDA-regulated products.
What kinds of problems is the center expected to address?
The center is expected to focus on applied food safety and food defense issues relevant to FDA-regulated products, emphasizing solutions that work in operational settings (for example, in real farm, handling, processing, and distribution environments).
What is meant by an emphasis on applied research?
Applied research here means work that connects real-world agricultural and supply chain conditions to measurable food safety outcomes, with the intent that findings can be used in practice rather than remaining purely academic.
What is the "farm-to-downstream" emphasis described in the opportunity?
A major emphasis is research that links what happens on the farm to downstream food safety outcomes during handling, processing, and distribution, including how contamination risks arising from agricultural practices may carry over into later processing steps.
What is the outreach, communication, and education component?
Beyond producing research, WCFS is expected to translate findings into usable knowledge for stakeholders. This includes creating and delivering communication programs so research is adopted in practice through training materials, guidance-oriented resources, stakeholder engagement, and other dissemination approaches.
Who are the intended stakeholders for outreach and education activities?
The opportunity notes stakeholders can include growers, processors, regulators, and other parties involved in the food system.
What does the opportunity say about partnership-building?
The opportunity prioritizes partnership-building and resource leveraging. WCFS is expected to function as a convening organization that coordinates efforts across government agencies (federal, state, and local), non-governmental organizations, universities, industry groups, and consumer interests.
Why is cross-sector collaboration emphasized?
The intent is to align expertise and resources to accelerate workable solutions to food safety and food defense challenges, particularly those that require coordination across sectors to implement effectively.
How is this opportunity connected to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)?
A key policy driver is support for FSMA. The cooperative agreement is meant to strengthen FSMA implementation through research, education, and outreach.
Which FSMA-related standards or regulations are highlighted?
The opportunity highlights the scientific basis for standards associated with the Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls regulations.
What does "strengthen FSMA implementation" mean in practice for this center?
In practice, it means generating and communicating evidence that can inform preventive approaches, risk reduction practices, and science-based standards directly relevant to compliance and public health protection.
Is the center expected to only publish research, or also support real-world adoption?
The opportunity emphasizes that the center should do more than publish. It is expected to translate findings into actionable guidance and training and to support adoption through dissemination and stakeholder engagement.
What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?
The opportunity specifies a cooperative agreement mechanism (U19). This indicates the award is structured as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, consistent with the announcement describing a continued, organized center-level effort.
What is the name of the center supported by this award?
The Western Center for Food Safety (WCFS) at the University of California, Davis.
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