Department of Agriculture and Forestry, State of Louisiana - Mike Strain DVM, Commissioner

NEWS

Grant Awarded to LDAF to Support Food Safety

August 31, 2015

Baton Rouge, La. (August 31, 2015) – The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Agricultural Chemistry Programs Division was recently awarded a five year, $3 million grant from the Food and Drug Administration in support of food safety efforts.

The Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (AFRPS) Cooperative Agreement will advance efforts to achieve a nationally integrated food safety system. The agreement will provide funding for the LDAF Feed Program, housed within the Agricultural Chemistry Programs Division on the LSU Campus in Baton Rouge. It will develop and maintain best practices, enhance feed safety and better direct regulatory activities at reducing foodborne illness attributed to feed safety hazards in facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold animal feed materials/supplies. In addition, this cooperative agreement will provide funding for the LDAF Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory to pursue laboratory accreditation under the International Organization for Standards (ISO) 17025 criteria. The funding will assist in ensuring quality laboratory management and technical operations and support the analytical testing of feed products sampled by the LDAF Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences inspectors.

LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said, “The job of the LDAF is to ensure a safe food supply through sampling and testing of foods available to the Louisiana consumer. Receiving this grant award allows us to continue our work to make sure food is safe for both people and animals.”

This cooperative agreement begins September 1, 2015 and ends August 31, 2020.

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