Project Abstract Summary The Vermont Department of Health Laboratory (VDHL) is located at 359 South Park Drive in Colchester, VT. The mission of VDHL is to promote health and prevent disease by providing quality analytical services, leadership in laboratory science and support to public health and environmental activities. VDHL, as the primary servicing laboratory, is committed to strengthening the food safety system in Vermont by supporting the regulatory and surveillance activities of the Vermont Department of Health Food and Lodging Program (VDHFL), which holds the State Manufactured Food Regulatory Program contract with FDA. To support these activities, VDHL must maintain and enhance its ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, obtained in September 2016, to ensure all test data generated is valid and defensible. VDHL is requesting funds in the amount of $1,884,472 to be used from July 2020 through June 2025 to maintain and enhance its ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, increase its food sampling and testing capacity, develop a validated method for gamma emitting radionuclides in human food, and report all collected surveillance data to FDA. Some specific uses of the funds include hiring two new Public Health Laboratory Scientists, buying key equipment, traveling to face-to-face meetings to share cutting edge ideas, and verifying new methods through special projects. Through this partnership, an increase in the number and type of laboratory analyses conducted will lead to enhanced protection of the food supply through an integrated food safety system.

NARRATIVE The Vermont Farm to Plate Network’s Rooted in Vermont grassroots initiative has increased locally sourced food purchases from 6.9% in 2010 to 12.9% in 2018 (representing more than $289 million in local food sales) and aims to mainstream local food consumption in Vermont during the next decade. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) get sick, over 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from contaminated foods or beverages each year and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that these foodborne related illnesses cost over $15.6 billion dollars each year. The Vermont Department of Health Laboratory (VDHL) attained ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in September 2016 and is the primary serving laboratory for the VDH Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS) and is seeking funding to maintain and enhance its ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, increase its microbiological and radiochemical food sample testing capacity and capabilities, increase its data sharing and surveillance capabilities, and overall capacity to protect Vermonters from unsafe food supplies.