Office of Partnerships Food and Drug Administration Cornerstones of Integration: Food Protection Task Forces and Rapid Response Teams Brett Weed Project Officer Office of Partnerships Food and Drug Administration

Highlights Understanding the Vision of an Integrated Food Safety System Programs Supporting the IFSS Food Protection Task Forces Rapid Response Teams

Integrated Food Safety System Big Idea: Leverage the participation, coordination, resources, and authorities of all regulatory partners to protect the food supply Plan and prioritize work to coordinate resources Use data to inform the development of evidence-based food safety policies and programs, and criteria to evaluate their effectiveness Implement efficient, prevention-focused, risk-based inspections and sample collections Share data among strategic partners Promote use of compliance and enforcement tools for achieving compliance with food safety laws and regulations

IFSS Support Programs Food Protection Task Forces Laboratory Capacity Building Partnership for Food Protection Rapid Response Teams State Cooperative Programs Activities Regulatory Program Standards Manufactured Food (MFRPS) Animal Feed (AFRPS)

IFSS Support Programs Food Protection Task Forces Laboratory Capacity Building Partnership for Food Protection Rapid Response Teams State Cooperative Programs Activities Regulatory Program Standards Manufactured Food (MFRPS) Animal Feed (AFRPS)

Food Protection Task Forces

Task Force Mission Create greater awareness of potential vulnerabilities in our food supply Create of foodborne illness prevention programs Foster opportunities for new surveillance systems for detecting foodborne illness Enhance ability to respond more quickly to outbreaks

Task Force Goals Provide a forum for all the stakeholders of the food protection Communicate and disseminate key objectives and mandates (e.g. Food Safety Modernization Act [FSMA], etc.) to relevant stakeholders Collect, compile, and communicate stakeholder interests and concerns Assist in adopting or implementing the Food Code and other food protection regulations (e.g. FSMA, etc.) Promote the concept of an Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) Conduct and present findings to stakeholders regarding research and investigations relating to the causes or prevention of food related illnesses and injuries in the context of food safety and defense.

Task Force Public Presence

Visibility of Task Forces Press Releases by or about a Task Force (ex: Vermont, Minnesota, Guam) Media coverage (ex: Virginia) Codified in Statute (ex: Minnesota, Florida) Created by Executive Order (ex: North Carolina) Spin-off Commodity-specific Task Forces (ex: New Jersey, North Carolina)

Task Force Grant Support Funding Opportunity Announcement #FD-16-039 Due Date: July 1, 2016 More information available at grants.gov

States with Supported Task Force

Rapid Response Teams

Why RRTs? Multiple high-profile outbreaks and food safety scares in the late 1990s and early 2000s

Congressional mandate for an Integrated Food Safety System Why Continue RRTs? Congressional mandate for an Integrated Food Safety System Multiple high-profile outbreaks and food safety scares from 2008 to present Opportunity for collaboration and integration with other Federal food safety and health initiatives

Current RRTs Joined: 2008/2009 2012 2014/2015 2016 –TBD!

Building a RRT State-District collaboration to minimize barriers to effective field response Improve the effectiveness of multi-jurisdictional food/feed emergency responses Reduce the time from agency notification  implementation of effective control measures Multi-agency (District/State) & multi-disciplinary (epi/lab/regulatory) RRT Structures Each is different, engage in a common core set of partners Management structures vary (e.g. Steering Committee) Common core capabilities (RRT Best Practices) Focus on collaborative/coordinated response Joint meetings, training, investigations Joint or coordinated plans and procedures

Phase 1: The first 6-12 months Vision (Introduction) meeting Outline RRT structure & membership Conduct a baseline assessment Kick Off Meeting

Phase 2: Years 1-2 Exercise prior to developing written SOPs Prioritize SOP development: Communications Traceback Joint investigations Sampling Recalls AARs

Phase 3: Year 3 and Beyond! Long term activities focusing on continuous process improvement Maintain trained staff & develop SMEs Maintain written RRT framework RRT Manual, SOPs, SOGs

What we’ve learned from 8 years of RRT development The relationships and communications processes are the foundation Buy-in and commitment start from the top down District Director/State Food Program Manager RRT Coordinator/DERC State investigators/CSOs Encourage a unique team identity that all agencies/ disciplines identify with; Celebrate success as a team Communication and information sharing are continuous activities Strong relationship at the RRT Coordinator/DERC level: Mutual respect and understanding. Be willing to listen and to help. Weekly check in calls for ongoing & emerging activities Notify/give heads up before it becomes an ‘official’ issue Two way street (info needs to go both ways)

What we’ve learned from 8 years of RRT development Mentorship makes a big difference! Joint capabilities are crucial Traceback, Sampling, Investigations, AARs, recalls Joint training helps build strong teams!! Four factors of mentorship pairings: Relationships Agency size Jurisdiction Geographic proximity

RRT Outcomes

RRT Manual Chapters Working With Other Agencies Federal – State Cooperative Programs Industry Relations Tools for Program Analysis & Improvement: CIFOR Food Emergency Response Plan Communication SOPs* ICS Concepts in RRTs* RRT Training Tracebacks* Joint Inspections & Investigations Environmental Sampling & Records Collection* Food Recalls After Action Reviews Metrics New - Exercises *Chapters are undergoing intensive revisions for 2016 Edition

RRT Investigations– By the Numbers 340 incidents investigated Human illness or outbreak linked (53%) Positive product investigation (20%) Recall investigation (20%) \ Positive product investigation, 18 RRTs reporting data

Tracebacks 180 tracebacks Informational Regulatory 56% resulted in successful identification of the source Informational 41% source identified Regulatory 65% source identified 45 were both Informational & Regulatory

On-Site Investigations 65% were joint investigations 67% involved an environmental assessment 106 (75%): contributing factors were identified Ill employee with food contact Improper cleaning/sanitizing of hands/or surfaces Contaminated raw product during pre-harvest or processing Cooling and hot-holding issues during preparation 26% involved environmental sampling

Questions? RRT Program Contacts Travis Goodman – RRT Program Coordinator Travis.Goodman@fda.hhs.gov 317-226-6500 Ext. 108 Lauren Yeung – RRT Program Coordinator Lauren.Yeung@fda.hhs.gov 301-796-6623 Brett Weed – RRT Project Officer Brett.Weed@fda.hhs.gov 919-348-3909