Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Alliance | FOR FD 20 020

Opportunity Information: Apply for FOR FD 20 020

The Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Alliance (Funding Opportunity Number: FOR FD 20 020) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under CFDA 93.103, in the Food and Nutrition and Health activity areas. The opportunity is designed to strengthen how manufactured food safety oversight is carried out across the United States by improving coordination and consistency among federal, state, local, tribal, and partner organizations. As a cooperative agreement, it also signals a close working relationship with FDA during the project period, with substantial involvement from the agency in shaping, aligning, and advancing shared objectives.

At its core, the program is meant to help FDA and its partners meet key requirements of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). FSMA is focused on preventing food safety problems rather than reacting after illnesses occur, and it relies heavily on aligned regulatory approaches, common standards, and coordinated operational capacity across jurisdictions. This grant supports that prevention-oriented framework by investing in the systems and relationships that allow regulators and public health agencies to operate more like a single, connected network when it comes to manufactured foods.

A major emphasis of the alliance is supporting the build-out of an Integrated National Food Safety System. That goal reflects the idea that food safety in practice is shared work: FDA sets national direction and oversight, but state, local, territorial, and tribal agencies often perform a significant portion of inspections, surveillance, sampling, and response activities. The alliance is intended to reduce fragmentation by helping these entities coordinate expectations, share workload intelligently, and develop mutual confidence in each other s regulatory activities, especially where responsibilities overlap or where rapid information exchange is critical during outbreaks or significant compliance events.

The opportunity also prioritizes creating and maintaining practical systems for sharing and collaborating on the tools that regulators use every day. This includes best practices, guidance documents, sampling plans, inspection and enforcement procedures, memorandums of understanding, and other resources that make programs more consistent and interoperable. By promoting shared tools and a structured way to circulate them, the alliance aims to foster mutual reliance, meaning federal, state, and local programs can more readily depend on each other s work products and findings without duplicating effort. In real terms, that can translate to more efficient oversight, better coverage of facilities and supply chains, and a more unified approach to identifying and managing risk.

Training and workforce development are another central pillar. The alliance is expected to assist FDA in identifying, developing, delivering, promoting, and or attending food safety and food defense training that supports conformance with manufactured food regulatory program standards and FSMA provisions. This focus on training recognizes that consistent implementation depends on having staff who are prepared to apply standards in the same way across different jurisdictions. Food defense is included alongside food safety, reflecting the need to address intentional adulteration and related vulnerabilities in addition to unintentional contamination and process control issues.

Finally, the grant supports continued advancement of regulatory program standards and other integration initiatives, including the hosting of in-person meetings. Those meetings are not just administrative; they are often where agencies align on interpretations, resolve recurring operational challenges, coordinate strategic priorities, and build the working relationships that make rapid coordination possible during emergencies. The intent is to move integration from a concept into routine practice, supported by governance structures, shared resources, and regular collaboration.

Eligibility is broad and includes state governments, county governments, city or township governments, federally recognized tribal governments, other tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education). The listing also includes an "Others" category with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement. The posting indicates an expected award count of one, and the award ceiling is listed as 0 in the source data, which often means the ceiling is not specified in the summary record and would need to be confirmed in the full funding announcement or related agency materials. The opportunity record shows a creation date of May 25, 2021, with the original closing date described as an archiving forecast, suggesting the listing may have been posted for planning or archival purposes rather than reflecting an active open deadline in the summary field.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration in the food and nutrition, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Alliance" 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 May 25, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Archiving forecast. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for FOR FD 20 020

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