Last year we reported on FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, which outlines the Agency’s plan to create a safer food system over the next decade. The Blueprint focused on tech-enabled traceability, smarter tools and approaches for prevention and outbreak response, new business models and retail modernization, and promotion of food safety culture.

On June 1, the FDA launched a public challenge in tangent with the New Era of Smarter Food Safety initiative to encourage the development of affordable, tech-enabled traceability tools to protect people and animals from contaminated foods.  The FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety Low- or No-Cost Tech-Enabled Traceability Challenge aims to develop scalable traceability hardware, software, or data analytics platforms that are low- or no-cost to the end user, while promoting innovation.  Entries will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Ability to address the needs of the targeted segment of the food supply chain.

• Uniqueness and innovativeness of the technology developed.

• Likelihood of utilization and ease of navigation.

• Affordability to enable inclusive and viable traceability approaches.

• Scalability and interoperability for the solution to be used by a majority of the targeted segment of the food supply chain.

FDA’s Office of Food Policy and Response is overseeing the public challenge, which runs from June 1, 2021 to July 30, 2021.  Up to 12 entrants will be announced as challenge winners, with their respective video submissions posted to FDA’s website and shared at an FDA webinar.  Entrants are not required to transfer any intellectual property rights to FDA nor provide an open source code.