FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program | FSIS 03142024

Opportunity Information: Apply for FSIS 03142024

The FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program is a USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) funding opportunity designed to strengthen the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) by expanding laboratory surge capacity for food defense and food safety testing. FERN is a nationwide network of regulatory laboratories at the federal, state, and local levels, and the program specifically supports labs that can help FSIS respond quickly when extra testing capacity is needed for incidents, outbreaks, or targeted data-gathering projects. The effort is led within FSIS by the Contaminants and Threat Agents Group (CTAG) under the Laboratory Quality Assurance, Response and Coordination Staff (LQARCS), reflecting a focus on preparedness and rapid analytical response.

The cooperative agreements aim to improve participating laboratories ability to test FSIS-regulated products, especially meat, poultry, and processed egg products, for a range of hazards and threat agents. Supported testing includes microbiological, chemical, and radiological analytes, and the work is expected to use approved FERN methods. In practical terms, the program is meant to bolster the testing capabilities that FSIS Field Service Laboratories rely on, ensuring that when demands spike, there are trained and equipped partner labs ready to assist. This supports FSISs broader mission of protecting public health by helping ensure meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome, and properly labeled.

Funding under this program can be used for activities that directly enable or expand testing readiness and throughput. The announcement highlights support for FERN testing initiatives, proficiency and method training, purchasing supplies and equipment required by methods, and reimbursement of personnel expenses tied to program work. Laboratories funded under the program may be involved in ongoing testing of meat matrices for both food safety and food defense targets, along with method development and validation efforts and other special, directed projects that meet FSIS data needs. Because these assignments can shift quickly based on emerging events, FSIS indicates a preference for laboratories that can respond on short notice and offer a broad set of analytical capabilities rather than a narrow specialty.

The structure of the award is annual but intended to operate within a longer planning horizon. Awards are made yearly as part of a 5-year cycle, and this particular notice represents year 1 of that cycle. Continued funding in subsequent years is not automatic; it depends on available agency funding and, where possible, FSIS review of each participating laboratories prior performance. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which generally signals a closer working relationship with the federal agency than a standard grant, often involving collaboration, coordination, or substantial federal involvement in project execution.

Eligibility is tightly limited to ensure participants are already integrated into the FERN system. Only FERN member laboratories with active status in the FERN CCM Portal (www.fernlab.org) may apply. The eligible organization types called out include public or state higher education institutions, state governments, county governments, and federally recognized Indian and Native American tribal governments, provided the applying laboratory is an active FERN member. Applications from non-members or from members listed as inactive as of the submission deadline will not be reviewed and will not receive funding.

Key administrative details from the notice include the opportunity title FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program and opportunity number FSIS 03142024. It is a discretionary opportunity under CFDA 10.479, administered by the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The original application closing date is April 22, 2024. The program expects to make about 8 awards, with an award ceiling of $246,875 per award (as stated in the opportunity summary).

• The Food Safety Inspection Service in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.479.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-22. (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 $246,875.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for FSIS 03142024

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