Food and Nutrition Board Food Forum

Title: Food and Nutrition Board Food Forum

Agency: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Notice Type: Presolicitation: Firm-Fixed Price

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) intends to solicit a 1-year base with four (4) option periods, sole source (in accordance with FAR  6.103-1), firm-fixed-price purchase order from National Academies 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541720- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities, anticipated period of performance consists of a 1-year base purchase order with four (4) option periods.

This notice is not a request for competitive proposals.

The National Academies Food Forum was established in 1993 as a mechanism for diverse groups to discuss food, food safety, food technology, nutrition, and food science issues and to identify possible approaches for addressing these issues by taking into consideration the often-complex interactions among industry, academia, regulatory agencies and consumers. In the past, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Human Foods Program (HFP), formerly the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), provided funds to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to support the Food Forum.

Examples of technical areas that the Food Forum attendees have been exploring in its discussions include:

• Science communications for healthy diets
• Global food supply chains
• Microplastics from food and water: state of the science
• The Human Microbiome, Diet, and Health
• Reducing the rates of nutrition-related risk factors for chronic disease
• Optimizing health through improved nutrition
• Providing healthy and safe foods for older adults
• Reducing sodium in foods
• Managing food safety practices from farm to table
• Nutrition standards for foods in schools
• Applications and validation of biomarkers and surrogate endpoints
• Nutritional risk assessment: methods and data challenges

The Food Forum provides a meeting ground at which representatives from government, industry, academia, and public interest groups can openly communicate about nutrition and food safety issues. Where applicable, members have been chosen for their professional perspective as well as their scientific credentials.

The Food Forum meetings are designed to identify high-priority problems and issues, improve understanding of their causes, and pursue possible approaches for resolving them. At the conclusion of a meeting, the Forum Project Director, in consultation with the Forum Chair and membership, prepares an agenda for the next meeting. In setting the agenda and priories for the Forum, the members consider criteria such as the magnitude of the public health problem, the extent of member interest in the issue, and the unique contribution the Forum can make relative to other activities being conducted by their public or private agencies. Final decisions for the agenda are based on the Food Forum deliberations and on the availability of Forum members and invited outside attendees.