# Enhancing Food Testing Capabilities at the WVDA through Discipline A: Microbiology Analytical Track 3: Animal Food Product Testing

> **NIH FDA U19** · WEST VIRGINIA STATE DEPT OF AGRICULTURE · 2020 · $158,125

## Abstract

Project Summary for Discipline A, Analytical track 3: Animal Food Product Testing 
 The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) is the primary regulatory 
agency and laboratory for the Animal Food Regulatory Program Standards (AFRPS). 
The laboratory desires to enhance their capacity and capabilities of animal food product 
microbiology analysis through the FDA Laboratory Flexible Funding Model Cooperative 
Agreement surveillance project. 
 Samples will be collected by the WVDA Regulatory Officers and will be analyzed 
by the WVDA Laboratory. Both parties will approve a sampling plan for each year. 
Currently, the WVDA is accredited for 18 microbiological methods with three of the 
Salmonella methods being approved for animal feed. Any methods used for surveillance 
activities will follow ISO 17025 guidelines including proficiency testing and method 
validations. 
 The WVDA has been an active member of the Food Emergency Response 
Network (FERN) since 2005, and a recipient of the FERN USDA FSIS Cooperative 
Agreement Program since 2010. The laboratory completed method development, 
method validations, and surveillance activities for FERN. Since 2015, the laboratory 
completed surveillance activities for the AFRPS ISO 17025 Cooperative Agreement 
Program. 
 The WVDA will provide training and mentorship to other state laboratories as 
requested by the FDA. Several laboratory staff have been involved in FERN trainings 
analysts from the WVDA have provided training at USDA and FDA sites related to FERN 
trains. 
 With the current established framework at the WVDA of personnel, facilities, ISO 
accreditation, on-going involvement of surveillance activities, and FERN method 
development, the WVDA is committed to completing the objectives of the surveillance 
project. This project will enhance the animal feed surveillance in West Virginia in order to 
support an integrated food safety system and enhance the collaboration with the FDA to 
build a nationally integrated laboratory science system. 
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## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10170836
- **Project number:** 1U19FD007093-01
- **Recipient organization:** WEST VIRGINIA STATE DEPT OF AGRICULTURE
- **Principal Investigator:** AMIE J MINOR
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $158,125
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10170836

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10170836, Enhancing Food Testing Capabilities at the WVDA through Discipline A: Microbiology Analytical Track 3: Animal Food Product Testing (1U19FD007093-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10170836. Licensed CC0.

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