Cooperative Agreement U2FFD008688

The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) received a $550,000 Cooperative Agreement award from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Food and Drug Administration Research program (CFDA 93.103), effective September 20, 2025, through June 30, 2028. Under this agreement, the GDA will maintain implementation of the Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (AFRPS) while conducting regulatory oversight of firms that manufacture, process, pack, or hold animal food products in Georgia. The GDA will promote compliance with applicable federal and state regulations, leverage mutual reliance frameworks to reduce risk factors contributing to animal and human illnesses, and utilize data exchange mechanisms through the Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) to strengthen collaborative efforts with the FDA and other state regulatory partners.

Key deliverables include advancing the GDA's animal food audit program from Phase II to Phase III during the three-year project period, enhancing information sharing and risk-based work coordination between state and federal regulatory partners, implementing early detection protocols for animal food safety issues, and conducting prompt investigations of serious adverse health consequence or death events (SAHCODHA). These efforts are designed to establish a uniform regulatory foundation for animal food safety in Georgia while demonstrating the GDA's capacity to participate fully in FDA-supported initiatives that advance collaborative food safety standards across state and federal jurisdictions.