The Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) currently comprises 150+ federal, state, and local government regulatory laboratories with varying capacities to perform threat agent testing.

FERN has 41 cooperative agreements already in place which target state, local, and tribal FERN labs in an effort

credit: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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to augment the network’s microbiological, chemical, and radiological threat agent testing capacities.

The current FERN cooperative agreement labs also focus on developing better diagnostic capabilities for threat agent testing within the Network partner laboratories.

These current FERN cooperative agreements enhance the ability to analyze for microbiological, chemical and radiological threat agents utilizing FERN methods and improve laboratory capacities for food defense assignments and outbreak response.

In support of the network, FERN has established a PT program conducted by FDA which tests the technical capability of the FERN partner laboratories.

This new proposed PT cooperative agreement will augment the current PT program and expand the number of PT agents and matrices currently conducted by FDA throughout the year.

This new PT cooperative agreement would support the purchase of equipment and supplies required by the methods and matrices selected in the PT program, and reimbursement of personnel expenses.

[NOTE:
The agreements do not support construction costs.]