FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program | FSIS FERN 10292020

Opportunity Information: Apply for FSIS FERN 10292020

The FSIS FERN Cooperative Agreement Program is a USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) funding opportunity intended to support the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), a national network of 169 federal, state, and local regulatory laboratories that help the government respond to food safety and food defense threats. FERN is jointly overseen by USDA FSIS and the FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA). Through this opportunity, FSIS plans to fund one cooperative agreement to strengthen and evaluate FERN laboratory readiness by running structured proficiency testing that measures how well member labs can detect and analyze microbiological and chemical threat agents in foods.

The central purpose of the cooperative agreement is to provide proficiency testing (PT) services under ISO 17043 accreditation, meaning the work is expected to follow internationally recognized requirements for proficiency testing providers. The awardee functions as the PT provider and is responsible for the end-to-end execution of PT events. That includes preliminary research, any needed modeling and analysis, preparation and storage of materials, packaging, and shipping of proficiency samples. The work is designed to assess the network's capability and capacity for threat agent testing using FERN methods as well as other validated approaches, covering both microbiology and chemistry disciplines.

Funding is structured as a one-year award cycle with up to $100,000 per year, and the announcement indicates the agreement may be renewed annually for up to five years. Continued funding depends on agency appropriations and a review of the awardee's past performance. Indirect costs are capped at 10 percent of the total award amount, which limits the portion of the budget that can be charged for overhead and similar indirect expenses.

The planned proficiency testing workload is organized around three main project areas for the fiscal year described. First, the awardee will coordinate FERN-wide proficiency sample distributions for both microbiological and chemical agents, using FSIS-regulated food matrices. The target scale is up to 75 microbiology sample sets and up to 60 chemical agent sample sets. Each sample set contains roughly 5 to 8 individual samples, and FSIS anticipates at least 2 to 3 PT offerings per year. The specific design and timing of these offerings are to be agreed upon with the FERN Proficiency Testing Committee, which signals that FSIS expects active coordination and alignment with FERN governance.

Second, the awardee will provide targeted Clostridium perfringens challenge sample sets to eight FERN laboratories. The opportunity specifies two requested sample set configurations that include a mix of uninoculated controls and inoculated samples representing different contamination forms and levels, including vegetative cells and spores at both high and low levels. In practice, this component is meant to evaluate lab performance on a pathogen of concern using realistic and graded challenges that can reveal detection and quantitation strengths and gaps.

Third, the announcement describes a potential additional workstream related to thermally processed foods, described as an additional possible funding source later in the agreement year. This portion involves 4 to 6 PT events annually in which a series of 12 samples is sent to one USDA FSIS field laboratory. The samples may include microorganisms associated with inadequate thermal processing and may also include packaged product samples from retort canning and tetrapak processing for physical examination of containers or packages for defects. Example organisms mentioned include Clostridium sporogenes, Enterococcus faecalis, and Geobacillus stearothermophilus, which are commonly used in process validation and challenge studies because of their relevance to heat resistance and thermal processing controls.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument, meaning FSIS is likely to have substantial involvement in guiding or coordinating the work rather than providing funds with minimal engagement. The opportunity lists CFDA number 10.479, anticipates a single award, and is associated with the USDA FSIS as the issuing agency. The original posting indicates an opportunity number of FSIS FERN 10292020, with an award ceiling of $100,000 and one expected award, reflecting a focused procurement of a single qualified PT provider to support network-wide readiness testing.

• The Department of Agriculture, 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 Oct 30, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 01, 2020. (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 $100,000.00 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).

Apply for FSIS FERN 10292020

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