A Collaborative Mentoring Approach to Advancing Conformance with the VNRFRPS

This application’s objectives are to help six greater-Boston communities achieve compliance with the FDA’s Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. Over the course of five years, each community will adopt various components of the nine Standards with the goal of improving retail food safety. This will be accomplished through a combination of methods including adopting a recent version of the FDA Food Code, increased and standardized training of staff, and developing written policies and procedures. Work will be coordinated among the six communities’ staff and boards of health. This will avoid duplication of effort as well as provide a “level playing field” for local businesses. Work will be accomplished with the cooperation and inclusion of the local businesses and there will be a concerted effort to communicate food safety messages to the public. This will result in an improvement in industry and consumer confidence.