Project Summary In order to expand the capacity of the Food Safety and Lodging program, the Kansas Department of Agriculture, by entering into a cooperative agreement with the FDA, plans to hire a Quality Assurance/Data Analyst Coordinator. With the addition of this position to the Food Safety team, the department will be able to develop and implement a quality assurance program for field inspections, inspection reports, and compliance and enforcement activities. The results from these audits will be used to improve almost every aspect of the program, including training, inspections, compliance, enforcement, and outreach. The data gathered from the QA program can be collected and analyzed to lead the creation of a risk-based inspection schedule. Another benefit of this program enhancement will be the opportunity to share the information collected with sister states and other local, tribal, and territorial food safety programs. Information collected and analyzed through the QA program will also be shared with food industry leaders and the FDA.

Project Narrative Relevance By entering into this cooperative agreement, the Food Safety and Lodging program of the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) will be able to collect data and study trends relating to its inspections and the compliance and enforcement program. The information gathered will improve many aspects of the Food Safety and Lodging program, helping to protect public health and lead to more effective information-sharing with other food safety programs, industry leaders, and the FDA.