Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA FD 20 028
The Retail Food Safety Association Collaboration (U18) Clinical Trial Not Allowed funding opportunity (RFA-FD-20-028) is an FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) cooperative agreement designed to strengthen retail food safety nationwide by partnering with non-profit, membership-based national food safety regulatory associations. The main idea is to use these associations as a force multiplier, tapping their national reach, relationships, and technical expertise to help reduce foodborne illness by improving how retail food safety systems are implemented across state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) jurisdictions and by supporting alignment between regulators and industry on proven prevention practices.
This is a limited competition cooperative agreement, meaning awards are intended for a specific, eligible set of organizations rather than an open field of all applicants. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education as the primary applicant type) and certain other entities as described in the full announcement. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement (U18), which signals substantial involvement from FDA during the project period, such as coordination on priorities, joint work on tools and recommendations, and alignment with national retail food protection goals. Clinical trials are not allowed under this announcement, and the work is oriented toward applied public health practice, implementation support, research reviews, needs assessments, and nationwide capacity-building rather than clinical experimentation.
The program focuses on practical, real-world improvements in retail food protection, with an emphasis on identifying and spreading effective intervention strategies that reduce the major risk factors known to drive foodborne illness in retail and food service settings. In this context, "intervention strategies" are broadly defined and can include structured activities, initiatives, programs, or tools used by industry and/or regulators to achieve immediate and sustained control of foodborne illness risk factors. Priority is placed on strategies that have been field-tested and shown to change long-term behaviors among food employees, since those are the most transferable and marketable approaches for broad adoption by SLTT programs and industry partners.
A central thrust of the work is to help SLTT retail food regulatory programs strengthen and standardize their systems by promoting full implementation and conformance with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS). The FOA also prioritizes full adoption of the most recent FDA Food Code by SLTT jurisdictions, recognizing that consistent, up-to-date model code adoption is a key lever for improving retail food safety practices. Grantees are expected to support adoption not just through advocacy, but through concrete deliverables like toolkits, outreach, training, and implementation supports that make adoption easier and more consistent across jurisdictions.
Another major objective is improving the quality and consistency of inspections by advancing risk-based inspection methods. That includes assessing how SLTT jurisdictions currently apply risk-based approaches, identifying the barriers that prevent consistent use of these methods, and working with FDA to design and implement strategies that help overcome those barriers. The emphasis is on inspections that effectively identify foodborne illness risk factors, diagnose gaps in active managerial control, and support compliance in a way that measurably improves outcomes rather than simply checking procedural boxes.
Active managerial control is also a key theme in this grant. The FDA is seeking efforts that help retail operators move toward a preventive, systems-based approach where management intentionally builds food safety controls into daily operations through monitoring, verification, and continuous improvement. Projects under this FOA are expected to develop and promote strategies, tools, and communications that make active managerial control more practical and widely adopted at the retail level.
Beyond day-to-day prevention, the FOA supports stronger outbreak readiness and response. That includes developing training, outreach, educational materials, and other innovative approaches that help SLTT programs reduce risk factors in establishments and respond more effectively when outbreaks occur. Applicants are also encouraged to improve national communication strategies so that best practices, toolkits, research findings, and other actionable information are easier to share and use across regulators, industry, and other retail food safety stakeholders.
The announcement explicitly calls for coordination with FDA on emerging retail food safety issues, including identifying trends, producing joint recommendations, and supporting implementation of those recommendations where appropriate. In practice, that means grantees are expected to operate as national conveners and implementers: gathering insights from the field, translating evidence into practical guidance, and helping scale improvements across many jurisdictions rather than focusing on a single locality.
Funding details reflect a short, performance-driven structure. Awards are expected to provide one year of support, with the possibility of up to one additional year of non-competitive continuation funding based on grantee performance and the availability of federal funds. The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $1,500,000 and anticipated up to five awards. It was posted under CFDA 93.103, within the broad activity category of Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition. Key dates listed include a creation date of March 17, 2020, and an original closing date of May 13, 2020.
Overall, the grant is aimed at creating national-level lift in retail food safety by funding organizations that can review and synthesize what works, measure current practice and adoption levels across SLTT programs and industry, remove practical barriers through tools and training, and accelerate consistent implementation of the FDA Food Code and VNRFRPS. The expected payoff is fewer foodborne illness risk factors in retail settings, more consistent regulatory capacity nationwide, stronger preventive management in food establishments, and better-coordinated outbreak response and communication across the retail food safety system.Apply for RFA FD 20 028
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration in the agriculture, consumer protection, food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Retail Food Safety Association Collaboration (U18) Clinical Trial Not Allowed" 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 Mar 17, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 13, 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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: 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).
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| Cooperative Agreement to Support FDA Land and Water Initiative (U01) Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 20 034 Funding Number: RFA FD 20 034 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| Cooperative Agreement to Support an Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Acute Dental Pain (U01) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 20 029 Funding Number: RFA FD 20 029 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
| Drug Development Science Support (U01) Clinical Trials Optional Apply for RFA FD 20 033 Funding Number: RFA FD 20 033 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $5,000,000 |
| CBER FY20 FOA for AAV vector manufacturing for diseases affecting very small populations (R01) Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 20 032 Funding Number: RFA FD 20 032 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $800,000 |
| Renewal - Federal and University Partnership to Improve the Safety of Seafood from the Gulf of Mexico (U19) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 009 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 009 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $125,000 |
| Renewal - Cooperative Agreement to Support Shellfish Assistance Project (U01) Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 006 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 006 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Renewal - Research, Education, and Outreach on Botanical Natural Products (U01) Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 010 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 010 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $3,500,000 |
| Renewal - Strengthen and Promote the Role of Local Health Departments in Retail Food Safety Regulation (U50 Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 011 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 011 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $800,000 |
| National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (U01) Clinical Trial Not Applicable Apply for RFA FD 21 023 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 023 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| Advancing Conformance with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) by State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) Retail Food Regulatory Agencies (U2F) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 028 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 028 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $10,000,000 |
| Training Alliance to Enhance Produce Safety and FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Compliance (U2F) Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 024 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 024 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $1,600,000 |
| Minor Use Minor Species Development of Drugs (R01) Apply for PAR 21 179 Funding Number: PAR 21 179 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Alliance to Support Integrated Public Health System Activities (U2F) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 029 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 029 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $3,000,000 |
| The FDA's Cooperative Agreement Program for States and Territories to Implement a National Produce Safety Program (U2F) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for PAR 21 174 Funding Number: PAR 21 174 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $12,500,000 |
| Data Standards for Tobacco Research and Scientific Review Program (U24) Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 22 002 Funding Number: RFA FD 22 002 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $750,000 |
| Enhancing Innovations in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies for Vaccines against Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases (R01) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 033 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 033 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Strategies that Support Global Food Safety (U01) Clinical Trial Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 030 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 030 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| AAV Vector manufacturing for diseases affecting very small populations (R01) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 034 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 034 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $600,000 |
| Collaboration in Regulatory Systems Strengthening and Standardization Activities to Increase Global Access to Safe and Effective Biological Products (U01) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 031 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 031 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $2,000,000 |
| Integrated Pathogen Reduction Technologies for whole blood and blood components for transfusion (R01) Clinical Trials Not Allowed Apply for RFA FD 21 032 Funding Number: RFA FD 21 032 Agency: Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
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