§ 399 — Grants To Enhance Food Safety

(a) The Secretary is authorized to make grants to eligible entities to— (1) undertake examinations, inspections, and investigations, and related food safety activities under section 372 of this title; (2) train to the standards of the Secretary for the examination, inspection, and investigation of food manufacturing, processing, packing, holding, distribution, and importation, including as such examination, inspection, and investigation relate to retail food establishments; (3) build the food safety capacity of the laboratories of such eligible entity, including the detection of zoonotic diseases; (4) build the infrastructure and capacity of the food safety programs of such eligible entity to meet the standards as outlined in the grant application; and (5) take appropriate action to protect the public health in response to— (A) a notification under section 398 of this title, including planning and otherwise preparing to take such action; or (B) a recall of food under this chapter. (1) In this section, the term “eligible entity” means an entity— (A) that is— (i) a State; (ii) a locality; (iii) a territory; (iv) an Indian tribe (as defined in section 5304(e) of title 25); or (v) a nonprofit food safety training entity that collaborates with 1 or more institutions of higher education; and (B) that submits an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. (2) Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include— (A) an assurance that the eligible entity has developed plans to engage in the types of activities described in subsection (a); (B) a description of the types of activities to be funded by the grant; (C) an itemization of how grant funds received under this section will be expended; (D) a description of how grant activities will be monitored; and (E) an agreement by the eligible entity to report information required by the Secretary to conduct evaluations under this section. (c) The funds provided under subsection (a) shall be available to an eligible entity that receives a grant under this section only to the extent such entity funds the food safety programs of such entity independently of any grant under this section in each year of the grant at a level equal to the level of such funding in the previous year, increased by the Consumer Price Index. Such non-Federal matching funds may be provided directly or through donations from public or private entities and may be in cash or in-kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services. (d) The Secretary may— (1) award a grant under this section in each subsequent fiscal year without reapplication for a period of not more than 3 years, provided the requirements of subsection (c) are met for the previous fiscal year; and (2) award a grant under this section in a fiscal year for which the requirement of subsection (c) has not been met only if such requirement was not met because such funding was diverted for response to 1 or more natural disasters or in other extenuating circumstances that the Secretary may determine appropriate. (e) The Secretary may award grants to an individual grant recipient under this section for periods of not more than 3 years. In the event the Secretary conducts a program evaluation, funding in the second year or third year of the grant, where applicable, shall be contingent on a successful program evaluation by the Secretary after the first year. (1) The Secretary shall measure the status and success of each grant program authorized under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (and any amendment made by such Act), including the grant program under this section. A recipient of a grant described in the preceding sentence shall, at the end of each grant year, provide the Secretary with information on how grant funds were spent and the status of the efforts by such recipient to enhance food safety. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall take the performance of such a grant recipient into account when determining whether to continue funding for such recipient. (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not duplicate the efforts of the Secretary under other provisions of this chapter or the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act that require measurement and review of the activities of grant recipients under either this chapter or such Act. (g) Grant funds received under this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds and any other Federal funds available to carry out the activities described in this section. (h) For the purpose of making grants under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011 through 2015.