ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
Open Access
SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESS STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Beyond Compliance: How Meeting FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards Strengthened Our Retail Food Program
Dan Anderson, MPA
Mark Reed, MPA, MPH, RS
Pamela Hendren, RS, CP-FS
Food Safety Branch, Division of Public Protection and Safety, Kentucky Department for Public Health
experience, lessons learned, unexpected ben- efits, and outlook as a program regarding the Retail Program Standards. Where We Started Like many jurisdictions, KDPH’s retail food program was already performing many activities that aligned with the Retail Program Standards. A formal self-assess- ment revealed, however, opportunities for improvement in program resources and doc- umentation. Many of the team’s operational procedures existed primarily through insti- tutional knowledge and best practices rather than formal written processes. Several challenges became apparent dur- ing the assessment process. As a decentralized state food protection program, staff does not complete routine retail food establishment inspections. Rather, staff rely on local health department partners as agents of the state. Documentation practices varied, making it difficult to demonstrate consistency across the program. In some cases, staff records existed but were stored in multiple locations, creating inefficiencies when information was needed. The self-assessment process ultimately provided a valuable roadmap. Rather than viewing the Retail Program Standards as an administrative burden, staff began to see it as a structured approach to strengthening the state’s program and identifying priorities for consistency and continuous improvement. Putting RFFM Funding to Work RFFM funding played a crucial role in helping the program move from planning to imple- mentation. The grant provided the flexibility
Editor’s Note: The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) strives to provide relevant and useful information through the pages of the Journal for environmental health professionals. In a recent membership survey, we heard your request for information that spotlights successful environmental health programs across the different areas of environmental health and from different sectors of the profession. We listened and are pleased to offer a column that shines a spotlight on success stories from the environmental health field. These stories enable us to learn from our peers and provide an avenue to incorporate successful programs, innovative solutions, and unique approaches to our own programs and initiatives. The findings and conclusions of this column are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of NEHA, our funders, or our partners. All three authors work in the Food Safety Branch of the Division of Public Protection and Safety at the Kentucky Department for Public Health. Dan Anderson is the Retail Program Standards coordinator. Mark Reed is the retail food program manager. Pamela Hendren is the retail food supervisor.
Introduction Retail food regulatory programs face increas- ing expectations to protect public health while operating with limited staff and resources. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Stan- dards) provide a framework for continuous improvement and help jurisdictions evalu- ate the effectiveness of their programs. For the Food Safety Branch within the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH), pur- suing conformance with various Retail Pro-
gram Standards provided an opportunity to strengthen operations, improve consistency, and better serve the people of Kentucky. Through support provided by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)- FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model (RFFM) grant, KDPH was able to dedicate time and resources toward achieving five standards. Initial efforts to build capacity enabled the team to improve regulatory staff training, standard operating procedure documenta- tion, program resources, and community engagement. This column shares KDPH’s
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Volume 89 • Number 3
https://doi.org/10.70387/001c.171789
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