Receive up to $5,000 to explore the National Environmental Assessment Reporting System

Your state can receive up to $5,000 to learn more about the National Environmental Assessment Reporting System (NEARS). CDC’s NEARS is a surveillance system that captures environmental assessment data from foodborne illness outbreak investigations in retail food services with the aim of improving food safety programs. Participants in the NEARS Explorers program will:

• Attend two webinars (3 hours total),
• Complete CDC’s free online environmental assessment training (EATS) at your pace (9 hours on average), and
• Complete a final report (15-30 minutes).

Using NEARS helps:

• Increase conformance with FDA Retail Program Standard 5
• Identify environmental causes of outbreaks in your jurisdiction

Funding can also be used for equipment, training, and/or conferences.

Completing the application takes just 10 minutes! Applications close on January 6, 2023.

All jurisdictions are welcome to apply; however, state programs will be given priority.