The National Environmental Health Assoc. Approach to Reducing Foodborne Illness via Promotion, Communication, and Support of Retail Food Safety Stakeholders in Collaboration with Partner Associations

Enhanced collaboration and a harmonized national approach to food safety complements the
New Era of Smarter Food Safety, a modernized approach, involving stakeholders at all levels of the food
safety supply chain in the reduction of foodborne illness. We, the National Environmental Health
Association (NEHA), will collaborate with three national associations to assist retail food regulatory
programs in reducing foodborne illness. Our specific aims are: 1) Develop a national Food Code adoption
strategy; 2) improve the approach, competency, and food safety culture amongst regulators; 3) increase
enrollment, engagement, conformance in the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program
Standards (VNRFRPS); 4) improve foodborne outbreak investigation methods; 5) increase the number of
establishments that have well-developed and implemented Food Safety Management Systems; and 6)
develop a strategy to enhance communication and better tell our story. Collectively, the four partner
organizations are the Retail Food Safety Association Collaborative, or the Collaborative.
The Collaborative will work to develop and promote a Food Code Adoption Tool Kit to assist
retail food regulatory programs in adopting the most current version of the FDA Food Code. We will
develop an interactive map which identifies the states’ respective version of the Food Code, to assist in
evaluation and targeting interventions. NEHA and the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) will
improve foodborne illness outbreak response by creating webpages that serve as the primary,
cumulative source of information on existing resources, tools, and trainings. NEHA and AFDO will also
create a series of virtual, customizable presentations for jurisdiction needing training templates. A
guidance document will be created by NEHA and AFDO to promote the practice of active managerial
control, increasing the number of food establishments with effective programs. NEHA will support our
association partners, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the
Conference for Food Protection (CFP), to increase regulatory programs’ implementation of effective
intervention strategies, promote enrollment in VNRFRPS, and conduct virtual meetings with
stakeholders to identify and overcome barriers to risk-based inspections.
We will enhance communications by providing web content designed to promote Collaborative
successes, outputs and recognized best practices. Additionally, we will develop at least two
recommendations to FDA on emerging food safety issues, publish at least one scholarly article intended
to quantify and characterize successes, challenges and lessons learned. The Collaborative will leverage
each partner organization to raise awareness of food safety principles, enhance compliance with rules
and regulations, promote best practices and work towards a reduction in foodborne illness.