Achieving Conformance with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards 3 & 5

Pima County Health DepartmentRFA-FD-20-012Achieving Conformance with FDA Standards 3 & 5The Pima County Health Department Consumer Health and Food Safety Division (CHFS or theDivision) requests $69,874.95 to achieve full conformance with Standards 3 and 5 of the Foodand Drug Administration's Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (FDAVNRFRPS). CHFS has been enrolled in the VNRFRPS since 2007.An award will ensure policies are developed according to Hazard Analysis and Critical ControlPoint (HACCP) principles and that all current staff, a total of thirty-five (35) employees, arecertified in conducting HACCP inspections. In addition to the staff time funding, CHFS isrequesting funds to provide a 2-day HACCP Training at the Pima County Health Department forall Environmental Health Staff. Currently, only a few staff members have been able to attend aHACCP course.CHFS requests funding to pay for approximately 1,575 hours of staff time to develop policiesand procedures for on-site corrective actions and the verification and validation of HACCP plansfor retail food sites when a plan is required by code. Policies will also be developed to provideguidance for the notification of appropriate state and/or federal agencies when a complaintinvolves a product that originated outside the agency's jurisdiction or has been shipped interstate.The estimated time and effort also includes training for staff after these policies and proceduresare finalized to ensure the new principles are practiced by all staff consistently.Completing these project objectives will allow CHFS to achieve full conformance withStandards 3 and 5, which will in turn reduce contributing risk factors associated with foodborneillness. Success of this program will be indicated by the number of staff certified in HACCPprinciples, the number of staff who attend HACCP training, and the execution of guidingdocuments for reporting outbreaks, foodborne illness prevention and emergency preparedness.