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CFSAN/Retail Food Safety Team
DRAFT: February 28, 1998;
DRAFT: April 24, 2001;
DRAFT: June 28, 2001;
DRAFT: April 2003; DRAFT: January 2005; DRAFT: December 2007
This Standard applies to the essential elements of a training program for regulatory staff.
The regulatory retail food program inspection staff (Food Safety Inspection Officers - FSIO) shall have the knowledge, skills, and ability to adequately perform their required duties. The following is a schematic of a 5-step training and standardization process to achieve the required level of competency.
Step 1 - Completion of curriculum courses designated as “Pre” in Appendix B-1 prior to conducting any independent routine inspections.
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Step 2 - Completion of a minimum of 25 joint field training inspections,
ANDsuccessful completion of the jurisdiction’s FSIO Assessment of Training Needs (ATN) similar to the process developed by the Conference for Food Protection. The Assessment of Training Needs Guide and Forms can be access from the CFP web site at http://www.foodprotect.org/pdf/GuideConductingAssessmentTrainingNe.pdf.
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Step 3 - Completion of a minimum of 25 independent inspections
ANDremaining course curriculum (designated as “post” courses) outlined in Appendix B-1.
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Step 4 - Completion of a standardization process similar to the FDA standardization procedures.
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Step 5 - Completion of 20 contact hours of continuing food safety education every 36 months after the initial training is completed.
Ninety percent (90 %) of the regulatory retail food program inspection staff (Food Safety Inspection Officers - FSIO) shall have successfully completed the required elements of the 5-step training and standardization process:
Step 1 - Pre-Inspection Curriculum
Prior to conducting any type of independent field inspections in retail food establishments, the FSIO must satisfactorily complete training in pre-requisite courses designated with a “Pre” in Appendix B-1, for the following curriculum areas:
There are two options for demonstrating successful completion of these pre-requisite (“Pre) courses.
OPTION 1:
Successful completion of the FDA ORA U pre-requisite courses/exercises/examinations identified as “Pre” in Appendix B-1
ANDtraining on the jurisdiction’s prevailing statutes; regulations and/or ordinances.
OPTION 2:
Successful completion of courses deemed by the regulatory jurisdiction’s food program supervisor or training officer to be equivalent to the FDA ORA U pre-requisite (“Pre”) courses,
ANDtraining on the jurisdiction’s prevailing statutes, regulations and/or ordinances,
ANDsuccessful passing of one of the four written examination options (described later in this Standard) for determining whether a FSIO has a basic level of food safety knowledge.
A course is deemed equivalent if it can be demonstrated that it covers at least 80% of the learning objectives of the comparable ORA U course AND verification of successful completion is provided. The learning objectives for each of the listed ORA U courses are available from the web site link at:
Regulatory retail food inspection staff submitting documentation of courses equivalent to the FDA ORA U courses – OPTION 2 – must also demonstrate a basic level of food safety knowledge by successfully passing one examination from the four written examination categories specified herein.
Step 2 - Initial Field Training and Experience
The regulatory staff conducting inspections of retail food establishments must conduct a minimum of 25 joint field inspections with a trainer or the jurisdiction’s designated staff member, who has successfully completed all training elements required by this Standard. The 25 joint field inspections are to be comprised of both “demonstration” (trainer led) and “training” (trainee led) inspections and include a variety of retail food establishment types available within the jurisdiction.
Demonstration inspections are those in which the jurisdiction’s trainer and/or designated staff person takes the lead and the candidate observes the inspection process. Training inspections are those in which the candidate takes the lead and their inspection performance is assessed and critiqued by the trainer. The jurisdiction’s trainer is responsible for determining the appropriate combination of demonstration and training inspections based on the candidate’s food safety knowledge and performance during the joint field inspections.
As part of the 25 joint field inspections, the jurisdiction’s trainer will conduct an Assessment of Training Needs (ATN) on those joint inspections performed as “training” inspections where the candidate takes the lead using a process and forms similar to the ones presented in The Guide to Conducting ATN. The ATN is designed not only to assess a Food Safety Inspection Officer’s readiness to conduct independent inspections, but also to provide valuable feedback on the jurisdiction’s food safety training process.
FSIOs must successfully complete the ATN prior to conducting independent inspections and re-inspections of retail food establishments in risk categories 2, 3, and 4 as presented in Appendix B-3 (taken from Annex 5, Table 1 of the 2005 FDA Food Code) need to provide web site for this info. The jurisdiction’s trainer/food program manager can make a determination as to the FSIO’s readiness to conduct independent inspections of risk category 1 establishments as defined in Appendix B-3 at any time during the training process.
Step 3 - Independent Inspections and Completion of ALL Curriculum Elements
Within 18 months of hire or assignment to the regulatory retail food program, Food Safety Inspection Officers must complete a minimum of 25 independent inspections of retail food, restaurant, and/or institutional foodservice establishments.
In addition, all coursework identified in Appendix B-1, for the following six curricula areas, must be completed within this 18 month time frame.
All courses for each of the curriculum areas must be successfully completed within 18 months of hire or assignment to the regulatory retail food program in order for FSIOs to be eligible for the Field Standardization Assessment.
As with the pre-requisite inspection courses, the coursework pertaining to the above six curriculum areas can be successfully achieved by completing the ORA U courses/exercises/exams listed under each curriculum area OR by completing courses, deemed by the regulatory jurisdiction’s food program supervisor or training officer to be equivalent to the comparable FDA ORA U courses. A course is deemed equivalent if it can be demonstrated that it covers at least 80% of the learning objectives of the comparable ORA U course AND verification of successful completion can be provided. The learning objectives for each of the listed ORA U courses are available from the FDA web site: http://www.fda.gov/ora/training/
Step 4 – Food Safety Inspection Officer – Field Standardization
Within 18 months of employment or assignment to the retail food program, staff conducting inspections of retail food establishments must satisfactorily complete four joint inspections with a “training standard” using a process similar to the ‘FDA Standardization Procedures.’ The standardization procedures shall determine the inspector’s ability to apply the knowledge and skills obtained from the training curriculum, and address the five following performance areas:
Continuing standardization (re-standardization) shall be maintained by performing four joint inspections with the "training standard" every three years.
Should a jurisdiction fall short of having 90% of its retail food program inspection staff successfully complete the Program Standard #2 criteria within the 18 month time frame, a written protocol must be established to provide a remedy so that the Standard can be met. This protocol would include a corrective action plan outlining how the situation will be corrected and the date when the correction will be achieved.
Step 5 – Continuing Education and Training
A FSIO must accumulate 20 contact hours of continuing education in food safety every 36 months after the initial training (18 months) is completed. Within the scope of this standard, the goal of continuing education and training is to enhance the FSIO’s knowledge, skills, and ability to perform retail food and foodservice inspections. The objective is to build upon the FSIO’s knowledge base. Repeated coursework should be avoided unless justification is provided to, and approved by, the food program manager and/or training officer.
Training on any changes in the regulatory agency’s prevailing statutes, laws and/or ordinances must be included as part of the continuing education (CE) hours within six months of the regulatory change. Documentation of the regulatory change date and date of training must be included as part of the individual’s training record.
The candidate qualifies for one contact hour of continuing education for each clock hour of participation in any of the following nine activities that are related specifically to food safety or food inspectional work:
A maximum of ten (10) contact hours may be accrued from the following activities:
Contact hours for a specified presentation, course, or training activity will be recognized only one time within a 3-year continuing education period.
A maximum of four (4) contact hours may be accrued for:
Documentation must accompany each activity submitted for continuing education credit. Examples of acceptable documentation include:
The desired outcome of this Standard is a trained regulatory staff with the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct quality inspections.
The quality records needed for this standard include:
The Standard 2, Program Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form is designed to document the findings from the self-assessment and the verification audit process for Standard 2.