Alaska Conformance With The Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards

Project Summary/AbstractThe State of Alaska Food Safety and Sanitation (FSS) Program provides direct public health and regulatoryoversight of manufactured food establishments, retail food establishments, public facilities, and shellfishshippers, producers, and processors throughout Alaska.In July 2008, Alaska enrolled in the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS), recognizedcritical elements in creating a national, fully integrated food safety system that are intended to enhance foodsafety by establishing a uniform basis for measuring and improving the performance of manufactured foodregulatory programs in the United States. Conformance with these standards assists both federal and stateprograms in better directing their regulatory activities at reducing foodborne illness hazards in manufacturedfood plants. Additionally, by conforming to the standards, the state offers FDA the foundation for pursuingregulatory action based on findings of state-conducted inspections and other regulatory activities.Consequently, the safety and security of the United States food supply will improve.Alaska has assessed its program and has developed a comprehensive strategic plan to continuously improveprogram areas that do not meet a particular standard with the intention of achieving full conformance by yearfive of this proposed cooperative agreement. Under this proposed cooperative agreement, Alaska's objectivesare to develop, implement, and maintain program policies and procedures, provide training so that the staff areaware of the policies and procedures, and verify that the policies and procedures are being followed.Additionally, Alaska will perform comprehensive self-assessments, updating its strategic plan accordingly, andfully participate in initiatives supporting the MFRPS with the goal of implementing a risk-based program thatcontinuously improves over time.