Saturday, May 18, 2024
5/18/2024
The Virginia Rapid Response Team (VA RRT) Background: In 2009, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was awarded a grant by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop strategies to improve food and feed rapid response capabilities within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Virginia Rapid Response Team was formed to include representation from the major food safety agencies operating within the Commonwealth of Virginia as a multidiscipline team for response to food and animal feed emergencies. Federal funding also provided many opportunities for continual training for VA RRT core team members and state response partners. RRT core team members attend FDA HAF2E district meetings, the national Rapid Response Team meetings and National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) regional meetings. The VA RRT was able to provide three training events during the previous funding period, to introduce and exercise the state Food Emergency Response Plan (VA FERP) to state and local emergency response agencies. During the previous five-year funding period, the Virginia Rapid Response Team activated to coordinate multi-agency responses to thirty-nine foodborne outbreaks and adverse event reports and seven emergency weather events. Methods: The VA RRT was activated for these multi-agency outbreaks to facilitate communication between all partners VDH, FDA Baltimore District Office, Human and Animal Foods 2 East (FDA HAF2E), VDACS, DCLS and USDA during the outbreak response using a using a modified Incident Command Structure with the FDA HAF2E Emergency Response Coordinator (ERC). The responses required coordination and communication with several agency partners and included joint facility inspections, environmental, ingredient and product sampling. Tests to detect cases matching into the outbreaks and samples collected by the VA RRT were completed by the state health laboratory, Division of Consolidated Laboratories (DCLS). Results: The development and implementation of the Virginia Rapid Response Team (VA RRT) has greatly increased cooperation and coordination between the state central offices and local health departments, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Food, Dairy and Produce Safety Programs, the VDACS Agriculture Commodities Program, the state health laboratory (DCLS), USDA, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, FDA HAF2E and the FDA CORE TEAM. Funding provided in the RRT cooperative agreement provides team training and collaboration between these groups to decrease foodborne outbreak investigation response time, increasing the probably of detecting the root cause of the outbreak and collecting valuable information for outbreak prevention. The VA RRT collaborated with Virginia Department of Emergency Management to provide two statewide training seminars to introduce the VA FERP. An intentional contamination tabletop exercise written by the VA RRT core team and VDEM to implement and test the VA FERP with new agency partners was completed during the recent funding period.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
