ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE
b89r(*9 The Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards) are a set of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines that provide a science-based framework for self-assessment and continuous improvement of retail food regulatory programs. FDA has funded multiple cooperative agreement programs for regulatory programs to progress toward conformance with the Retail Program Standards. Our study analyzed the 770 local health departments (LHDs) enrolled in the Retail Program Standards from 2002–2021 to 1) assess if the program’s current guidelines are feasible for LHDs and 2) evaluate the eect of FDA cooperative agreement programs on conformance with the Retail Program Standards. Results indicate that LHDs are submitting necessary documentation close to the prescribed deadlines in the last 10 years. Grant- funded programs were shown to significantly improve the odds of achieving conformance with the Retail Program Standards in both self-reported and third-party audited submissions. Our study reports the first evaluation of FDA grant-funded programs aimed at improving conformance with the Retail Program Standards and highlights the importance of continued and sustainable funding for this work. Evaluating the Impact of Food and Drug Administration-Funded Cooperative Agreement Programs on Conformance With the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards
Nicholas Adams, MHS, REHS National Association of County and City Health Officials Stephanie Puwalski, MHA, MPH National Association of County and City Health Officials Noah Papagni National Association of County and City Health Officials Carolyn Leep, MS, MPH Timothy C. McCall, PhD National Association of County and City Health Officials Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, The George Washington University Donna Wanucha, REHS Food and Drug Administration gram Standards), which are a comprehensive set of guidelines that provides a framework for self-assessment (SA) and continuous improve- ment of food regulatory programs (Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 2023a). The Retail Program Standards provide a founda- tion and system on which retail food regula- tory programs can build and continuously improve their retail programs and focus on the goal of reducing the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors. The Retail Program Standards consist of nine standards (Table 1) intended to reduce foodborne illness via capacity building, empowerment, and increased uniformity among SLTT retail food regulatory programs. In all U.S. states, one or more of the eligible state-level agencies with a retail food regula- tory program has enrolled in the Retail Pro- gram Standards. In the U.S., 70.8% of the population reside in a locality in which an eligible local-level agency has enrolled in the Retail Program Standards (FDA, 2023b). SLTT regulatory programs that participate in the Retail Program Standards conduct SAs that allow them to identify program needs, establish priorities, and create action plans to address the identified needs as resources become available (FDA, 2023a). The first guideline requires enrollees to submit an SA to FDA within 12 months of enrolling in the Retail Program Standards. Subsequent SAs are submitted 60 months after the initial one. If enrollees achieve conformance with ≥1 of
Introduction The Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion (CDC, 2018) estimates that one in six people in the U.S. becomes ill from foodborne diseases each year. Of these individuals, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die. Due to the diversity of the retail food industry, responsibility is shared among interested par- ties at all levels including growers, processors, food service operators, and retail food estab- lishment personnel. The roles of monitoring and regulating retail food establishments fall to state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT)
government agencies, with guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tasks of SLTT agencies include inspection of retail food stores, restaurants, and institutional food service operations; removal of unsafe food products; enforcement of food safety regulations; and implementation of correc- tive action for out-of-compliance risk factors. To help control these risk factors, FDA works with association and agency partners to encourage retail food regulatory agencies to implement the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Pro-
16
Volume 86 • Number 4
Powered by FlippingBook