City of Newton Prototype Program For Complying With Nine Fda Program Standards

Project Summary/AbstractThe City of Newton Health and Human Services Department seeks funding to establisha comprehensive and sustainable program to meet all of the nine FDA Food RegulatoryProgram Standards.The Department proposes to achieve this by hiring a Standards Coordinator todocument already existing policies/procedures and to develop and implement newpolicies/ procedures needed to meet the Standards under the supervision of thePrincipal Investigator and in collaboration with the Environmental Health Specialists.The Department is seeking to establish a computerized food inspection form as well asa database to be shared among departments conducting inspections in the City.Computerization will facilitate more effective inspections and better tracking of metricsas well as enabling the creation of a restaurant grading system. Active outreach withinthe Massachusetts public health community will allow this work to be shared amongother local health departments seeking to achieve compliance with the Standards.Foodborne illness affects an estimated one in six Americans every year, (Centers forDisease Control and Prevention 2011statistics), leads to lost productivity from missedwork and school, and can be fatal, particularly in vulnerable populations. Compliancewith the Food and Drug Administration Food Regulatory Standards will increase thesafety of retail food in Newton, and will help provide tools for other communities toincrease their compliance with the standards, which will lead to healthier and moreeconomically productive communities.In order to improve food safety in the city, an effective inspection system and a well-trained inspection staff also has to be accompanied by successful outreach to foodestablishments and the general public. For the food establishments, good trainingsavailable in multiple languages and at convenient times with a robust curriculum andinput from owners will help to engage employees to perform according to best foodsafety practices. Education and access to information will assist the public in choosingwhere to eat and how to prepare foods properly to guard against foodborne illness.