Building the Capacity of Department of Public Health (DPH)'s Food Service Progr

<p> Project Summary: The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), through county boards of health, regulates food service establishments where foods are primarily prepared for immediate consumption. There are approximately 26,441 permitted food service establishments in Georgia. The mission of the Food Service program under DPH is to minimize food-borne related illness. Food safety activities under the Food Service program primarily include regulation and routine inspection of food service establishments, investigation of food-borne related complaints and illnesses, training environmental health specialists and educating food service industry personnel. The goal of this research project is to facilitate long term improvements to food safety activities related to the Food Service program towards building the inspection and investigation capacity of local Environmental Health Specialists (EHS) through continuing education, standardization, food-borne outbreak investigation training, and equipment purchases. Objectives that will help accomplish this goal include: Adoption of the 2009 version of the FDA Food Code, Standardization of local Environmental Health specialists in addition to designing a food program curriculum for environmental health workforce development Ensure there is uniformity in food service inspections. Ensure Environmental Health specialists are trained in investigations focused on emerging trends and strategies to prevent food-borne illness Ensure food safety information sharing and networking of peers among local , state and federal and industry counterparts in food safety Ensure essential supporting equipment and supplies related to inspections and investigation is provided to Environmental Health specialists Assess the Food service program's impact in food-borne illness risk factor reduction. Outcomes expected from the research project include diagnosing and investigating gaps in the food service inspection program, monitoring the state wide food safety inspection data to guide policy development, mobilizing new partnerships with other public health agencies for efficient use of resources and assuring a competent and standardized Environmental health workforce to conduct efficient food safety inspections, investigate food-borne illnesses and accomplish the goal of the Foodservice program. These project outcomes are focused on achieving a prevention based approach to food safety in accordance with the advanced concepts of the food Safety Modernization Act.</p>