Using Technology, Data, and Collaboration to Expand SLTT Conformance With the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards

PROJECT SUMMARY After decades of incremental changes to the food safety system, technological advancements have ushered in a corresponding period of increased change for both food systems and food safety. According to FDA’s most recent food safety initiative, the New Era of Smarter Food Safety, many experts believe the pace of change will continue increasing over the next ten

years, perhaps even more than in recent decades. As old foods are reformulated, new foods are created, new production and delivery methods are developed, and the entire system becomes increasingly digitized, complexity for regulators is only going to increase. The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) project entitled A People-Centered,

Technology-Driven, Scientific Approach to Advancing Conformance with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards) is intended to:  Objective 1: Work with FDA and project partners to develop, refine, and improve the grant management system we developed to administer financial assistance to SLTT

retail regulatory food programs based on FDA's Retail Flexible Funding Model (RFFM) vision.  Objective 2: Maintain the Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Online Course we developed in partnership with FDA and expand its use and value to SLTT jurisdictions.  Objective 3: Establish the NEHA-NACCHO Mentor Academy to recruit and train a new

generation of mentors, expanding our capacity to meet the increasing demand for expertise in the Retail Program Standards.  Objective 4: Work with CFP and FDA to host a biennial Retail Program Standards Symposium and an annual Virtual RFFM Grant Year Kickoff Meeting, to engage current and attract new enrollees in the Retail Program Standards.

These four objectives will advance the Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS) requirements found in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and support the goal of building New Business Models and Retail Standardization in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety. By supporting SLTT retail food regulatory programs in their work toward uniformity and

encouraging increased active managerial controls, we will assist the FDA with their goal of “bending the curve” of foodborne illness by reducing the number of illnesses and related deaths.