Listing of Jurisdictions Enrolled in the
Draft Voluntary National Retail
Food Regulatory Program Standards

The ultimate goal of all retail food regulatory programs is to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of illnesses and deaths from food produced at the retail level. In support of this goal, FDA works cooperatively with our state, local, and tribal partners using a risk-based approach to leverage limited resources. As an example of the FDA National Retail Food Team's leveraging efforts, FDA, with input from Federal, state and local regulatory officials, industry, trade associations, academia, and consumers, developed the Draft Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. The Program Standards initiative represents a comprehensive strategic approach that will help ensure the safety and security of the food supply at the retail level.

Regulatory programs are not static; rather they are dynamic, ever evolving programs. Acknowledging this, the Program Standards provide a framework for continuous improvement, based on meaningful public health performance measurements. These performance measures focus on reducing the occurrence of factors that contribute to foodborne illness within retail food and foodservice establishments.

When applied in the intended manner, the Program Standards enable a regulatory program to:

• Identify program areas where the greatest impact on retail food safety can be made and prioritize resource allocations accordingly;
• Promote wider application of effective intervention strategies designed to reduce the occurrence of factors that contribute to foodborne illness;
• Assist in identifying program areas most in need of enhancement;
• Provide information needed to justify program resources;
• Achieve a "Best Practice" model using innovative ideas to implement and administer programs;
• Improve industry and consumer confidence in food protection programs by enhancing uniformity within and between regulatory agencies; and
• Enhance program accountability through the establishment of baselines on the occurrence of contributing factors to foodborne illness that can be used to achieve measurable program outcomes.

The criteria specified for each of the nine standards are not minimum criteria, but rather represent a high benchmark to which a regulatory retail food program should aspire. Together, these nine standards provide a comprehensive set of performance measures representing every facet of the retail food regulatory program. The Program Standards address the following program areas:

1. Regulatory Foundation
2. Trained Regulatory Staff
3. Inspection Program Based on HACCP Principles
4. Uniform Inspection Program
5. Foodborne Illness and Food Security Preparedness and Response
6. Compliance and Enforcement
7. Industry and Community Relations
8. Program Support and Resources
9. Program Assessment

Regulatory programs can improve the services they provide to consumers and their regulated industries using the continuous improvement model specified in the Program Standards. The continuous improvement model is described as follows:

• Once enrolled, a jurisdiction conducts a self-assessment of their program. A self-assessment is an internal review by program management to determine whether the existing program meets the criteria specified in each of nine standards. This activity identifies the program's strengths and areas in need of improvement. The status of any standard met upon completion of the self-assessment is reported to FDA. X's corresponding to the standard(s) met are placed on the charts below.
• Following the self-assessment, short and long-term action plans are developed by the jurisdiction to meet additional standards. The status of any standard met upon completion of an action plan is reported to FDA. X's corresponding to any additional standards met are placed on the charts below.
• Within 36 months of the completion of the self-assessment, the jurisdiction obtains a verification audit. The verification audit is a systematic, independent examination by an external party. A jurisdiction obtains the verification audit to confirm the accuracy of the self-reported status of standards and to receive unbiased feedback that can be used to make further program improvements. Dates placed below the X's on the charts reflect that the information reported by a jurisdiction has been verified by an independent audit.
• Following the completion of the verification audit, a jurisdiction begins the continuous improvement cycle again by completing another self-assessment. This cycle is repeated every 3 years and is intended to be a long-term effort at program improvements over time.

FDA is fully committed to devoting resources to support and encourage the enrolled jurisdictions as they strive to be their best at protecting public health. FDA has established the following performance goals in its National Retail Food Team Operational Plan:

• Enroll 15% (450) of the eligible jurisdictions (3000) in the Program Standards by October 1, 2010; and
• Have at least 50% of the enrolled jurisdictions each meet 25% of the Standards as verified by an audit by October 1, 2010.

This listing identifies regulatory agencies that have enrolled in the Draft Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. This listing is updated quarterly and includes the enrolled jurisdictions' contact information, enrollment dates, and self-reported and verified status of each of the program standards.

FDA's Draft Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards