The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) intended to enhance NARMS surveillance, one of the key activities in the National Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance Bacteria. NARMS, launched in 1996, is a partnership between the FDA, the CDC and the USDA that tracks resistance to intestinal bacteria from retail meats, human clinical cases, and food-producing animals at slaughter, respectively.

On March 1, 2016, NARMS will begin accepting applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 NARMS Cooperative Agreement Program to Enhance and Strengthen Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance in Retail Food Specimens, which will provide up to $2.5 million in funding to partnering institutions across the country. The goal of the NARMS Cooperative Agreement Program is to improve the detection of antibiotic resistance among enteric bacteria in food commodities, as well as expand the NARMS network to new areas throughout the country. NARMS expects to announce up to 30 recipients in July. This work relies on partnerships with institutions in the states with an interest and capacity for long-term testing of meats from grocery stores and other outlets.

Applications are due May 2, 2016.