# New Mexico MFRPS Implementation

> **NIH FDA U18** · NEW MEXICO STATE DEPARTMENT/ ENVIRONMENT · 2022 · $225,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Given the large impact of New Mexico's food manufacturing industry, providing high quality,
consistent inspections based on the scientific principles of food safety is paramount to protecting
New Mexicans and consumers throughout the nation and world. Furthermore, the ability to
identify and respond quickly to public health events impacting New Mexico through a well-
planned and coordinated Rapid Response Team (RRT) is paramount to preventing the spread
and/or continuation of public health related events.
In addition to Several large food processors have operations in New Mexico (NM) including:
General Mills, Kraft, Coca Cola, Santa Fe Tortilla Company, Bueno Foods, Border Foods, and
Albuquerque Tortilla Company, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED-EHB) has
experienced a substantial surge in the number of small local producers seeking to begin food
manufacturing. In 2015 NMED-EHB identified an inability to keep up with the growing number
of questions and requests to provide assistance and speak to various groups or to develop a
program conforming with the MFRPS. Since obtaining “MFRPS cooperative agreement” in
2015, NMED-EHB has made significant progress in conforming with the MFRPS by achieving
conformance with five standards and through the expansion of staffing, has been able to begin
providing assistance to new and existing food manufacturers throughout the state.
In addition to having adequate resources and time to respond to questions, applications, plan
reviews, operational plans, recalls, training requests, and fulfilling staff training requirements,
NMED-EHB now also able to provide scientifically, risk-based inspections with a small team of
properly trained and audited inspection staff. Raising the level of staffing and eduation/training
of this team has proven immediately beneficial to NM-produced manufacturing as the team has
discovered significant issues previously undiscovered by other staff conducting manufactured
food inspections. Corrections are being handled in a timely manner in accordance with SOPs.
NMED-EHB anticipates participation in the Flexible Funding Model Cooperative Agreement
will result in further increasing the effectiveness of protecting public health nationwide and will
result in full conformance with the MFRPS by the completion of Y2 of this agreement. After
conformance is achieved in Y2, NMED-EHB anticipates maintaining conformance with the
MFRPS through established monitoring practices and will strive to continually improve through
envisioned continuous improvement initiatives. This will be oaccomplished by the following:
 • The State will achieve, monitor, and successfully sustain full conformance with
 the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS) by completion
 of Y2;
 • The State will actively engage through an annual face-to-face meeting and
 participation in committees supporting MFRPS;
 • The State has and will collaboratively develop strategies and share tho...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10458576
- **Project number:** 5U18FD006400-05
- **Recipient organization:** NEW MEXICO STATE DEPARTMENT/ ENVIRONMENT
- **Principal Investigator:** Johnathan Gerhardt
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $225,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-12-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10458576

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10458576, New Mexico MFRPS Implementation (5U18FD006400-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10458576. Licensed CC0.

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