The Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC) announces the availability of funds through the Dairy Food Safety & Certification Grant program, which will provide grants for dairy farmers, processors, and/or producer associations to take actionable steps to improve the safety of dairy products.
Donor Name: Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE-DBIC)
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | In-kind
Deadline: 02/22/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Projects funded through this program will support increased production safety standards with the goal of accessing new markets. Projects that increase marketability of dairy products will be prioritized. Activities covered by this grant include accessing technical assistance, audits, food safety plan development, training, testing fees, and certain infrastructure upgrades.
Grants are available to applicants in all Northeast states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Funding Priorities
Priority will be given to projects which address some or all the following priorities:
- Food safety improvements and/or certification activities that will benefit multiple businesses
- Projects that reduce barriers to improving food safety
- Improving perception of food safety practices
- Building on or enhancing previous food safety improvement efforts
- Food safety improvements or certifications that will increase sales, revenue, and/or consumers reached
- Innovation in incorporating food safety messaging into marketing efforts
- Digital marketing and social media conveying food safety messaging to consumers.
Funding Information
- Available funds: up to $650,000
- Grants will range from $10,000 – $50,000 with a 25% (cash or in-kind) match commitment required.
Project Period
Between 8 and 12 months.
Eligible Projects
Project activities under this grant will reduce or eliminate food safety risks in the production, storage, transport, or handling of dairy products. Eligible activities may include, but are not limited to:
- Audits and resulting activities needed to meet audit requirements, including but not limited to:
- Pre-audit consultations
- Food safety audits
- Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) audits: in-plant and/or recordreview
- Technical assistance in the development, implementation, or review of plans, monitoring programs, trainings, and/or certification of:
- Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)-compliant preventive control food safety plans
- Food Traceability Final Rule compliance
- Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) certification
- Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP)
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
- Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)
- Biosecurity plans
- Enhanced biosecurity measures, including traffic flow
- Biosecurity training
- Continuity of Business plans
- Food safety programs
- Record keeping/traceability systems
- Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans
- Dairy Process Authority to validate products for safety and stability
- Safety Quality Food (SQF) Code trainings and systems development
- Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)-compliant preventive control food safety plans
- Testing costs:
- Food safety product tests
- Environmental monitoring sample collection, testing/lab fees, sample shipping
- Floor pathogen testing
- Infrastructure upgrades:
- Technical assistance, trainings, or workshops that contribute to, or result in, certificates or certifications in food safety improvements in areas such as:
- Dairy food safety
- Food handling
- Milk and dairy product quality and safety
- Biosecurity
- Microbiology
- Fluid milk production
- Dairy product production
- Membrane filtration and separation
- Recipe or process improvement to achieve increased shelf life or stability of product
- Costs associated with:
- Contaminant management
- Standalone toilet facilities/handwashing stations
- Worker clothing/PPE
- Waste disposal
- Wages associated with the time for staff to perform grant activities including trainings, development of food safety plan/protocols, and implementation of food safety improvements.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants eligible for these funds must fall into at least one of the following categories:
- Dairy farmer (producer) that:
- is headquartered or based in the Northeast; and
- sources or produces milk within the Northeast; and
- is a licensed dairy operation in compliance with all required state and federal standards.
- Dairy processor that currently transforms raw milk into an edible product and is licensed in a way that their product can be sold across state lines, OR a current dairy processor whose grant project will help their business take steps toward getting licensed in a way that will allow them to sell their edible product across state lines, and:
- is headquartered or based in the Northeast; and
- sources or produces milk within the Northeast; and
- if a value-added processor, manufactures products within the Northeast.
- Dairy producer association/dairy council1 which represents and promotes dairy products and dairy businesses of the Northeast. Grant projects submitted by dairy producer associations must directly benefit multiple dairy businesses to be eligible for this grant.
For more information, visit NE-DBIC.
