Advancement of the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Conformance with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards through a Cooperative Agreement

Project SummaryThe Kansas Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Lodging Program (KDA-FSL) promotes foodsafety by establishing food protection standards, investigating complaints, educating food businessesand consumers, and licensing and inspecting food businesses. KDA-FSL has been enrolled in theVoluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) since 2009. Continuing thiscooperative agreement will allow our program to strive for full conformance with VNRFRPS by the endof this bridge year.With continued funding and support from the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), KDA-FSL willfurther enhance our policies and procedures, work towards meeting standards four, five, eight, andnine, send field staff to training, and to perform a self-assessment on Standard one once the new KansasFood Code, based on the 2017 FDA Model Food Code, has been adopted.Through routine self-assessment, quarterly meetings, completion of mid-year and annual performancereports, and annually reviewing and updating our strategic plan, KDA-FSL will be able to assess ourprogress and refocus our work as applicable, so that at the end of this cooperative agreement, KDA-FSLwill have completed the goals of the project.Goals that our program has set for this cooperative agreement include:? Complete a data review and analysis of the complaint database and the illness and food related injury investigations to identify trends and possible contributing factors.? Create standard operating procedures for inspection equipment for field staff.? Update Administrative Program support job duties.? Establish a baseline metric and complete a Risk Factor Study.? Send 12 inspection staff to training opportunity, FD218, to increase inspection knowledge and further develop their inspection skills.? Increase scientific knowledge and technical capabilities of field staff to lead the way in driving success with new methods, concepts, technology, and innovation to continue creating a robust VNRFRPS program.? Develop and maintain innovative approaches to food safety issues, which can then be shared with FDA and other state partners.? Send Standardization officers and management to the face-to-face Southwest Regional meeting.