# Maryland Department of Agriculture Produce Safety FDA Cooperative Agreement

> **NIH FDA U18** · MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE · 2020 · $264,966

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Project Title: Planning and creating a Maryland Produce Safety Program to Implement the Food
Safety Modernization Act Produce Rule
Project Description: Develop a plan to implement the FDA’s Produce Safety Rule in Maryland
that includes developing an inventory of regulated produce farms; providing outreach, technical
assistance and education to regulated farms; and designing and implementing a compliance program
for FDA’s Produce Safety Rule. The Maryland Department of Agriculture and the University of
Maryland Extension will collaborate to achieve the goals of this project.
Project Goals: The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop a strategic plan to align
programs and regulations with the FDA’s Produce Safety Rule to provide effective implementation
of a Produce Safety program in Maryland. Specific goals include establishing inventory of covered
farms; providing outreach, education and technical assistance to farmers; completing an assessment
of Maryland’s regulatory authority for produce safety; assessing and obtaining the resources needed
to develop a successful program and implementing the program.
Expected Outcomes: The plans and activities outlined in this proposal will create federal-state
partnerships and resources to implement an effective produce safety program that is aligned with
the FSMA Produce Rule, provides farmers with the knowledge to comply with the rule and results
in consistent inspections of farms and a decrease in foodborne illnesses due to produce in Maryland.
Project Objectives:
1. Develop and maintain an inventory of produce farms covered under the rule that includes a
mechanism to share the data with FDA. 2. Assess current regulations and resources to plan
activities (regulatory authority, training, technical support, information technology, laboratory
capabilities, and inspection/enforcement/compliance) and obtain the necessary resources to develop
a Maryland produce safety program that is aligned with FDA’s Produce Rule. 3. Implement a plan
that includes prioritized regulatory oversight of covered farms, inspections, sampling, enforcement,
training and technical assistance.
Budget: Year one, $500,00.00; Year two, $725,000.00; Year three, $755,00.00; Year four,
$770,00.00; Year five, $875,000.00, TOTAL: $3,625,000.00 over five years.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9966737
- **Project number:** 5U18FD005900-05
- **Recipient organization:** MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
- **Principal Investigator:** Molly Gillingham
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $264,966
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-05 → 2021-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9966737

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9966737, Maryland Department of Agriculture Produce Safety FDA Cooperative Agreement (5U18FD005900-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9966737. Licensed CC0.

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