Issues follow a clearly defined path through the Conference for Food Protection process.
Issue Preparation
You MUST properly prepare your Issue by creating a draft. Completion of this draft is essential for you to have your Issue successfully submitted and accepted for presentation at the Biennial Meeting.
Issue Acceptance (Terms and Conditions)
To be accepted by the Conference for Food Protection, an Issue must meet the Terms and Conditions. It is critical that you review your Pre-Submission Draft and evaluate it using the terms and conditions.
Issue Submission
Once you are satisfied that your Pre-Submission Draft meets all of the requirements, you are ready to submit your Issue.
Issue Acceptance
Once an Issue is accepted by the Issue Reviewers, it follows this path:
1. ISSUE ASSIGNMENT
The Issue Committee reviews each accepted Issue for assignment to the appropriate Council.
- Council I - Laws and Regulations
- Council II - Administration, Education, and Certification
- Council III - Science and Technology
Council Chairs will assign a sequence number representing the planned order for discussion during Council deliberations.
2. ISSUE POSTING
Issues will be posted on the Conference for Food Protection website at least 40 days prior to the biennial meeting. The Issues and attachments will be downloadable individually or by Council.
Two versions of Issues will be available online: full Issues as submitted and an abbreviated version used by Council Scribes. After Councils complete their tasks, the Scribe version will be printed for Delegate review and vote.
3. COUNCIL DELIBERATION
As an Issue submitter, your presence at the Biennial Meeting will greatly assist discussion of your Issue; if you cannot attend, please make sure that someone is present to answer any questions.
During Council deliberation, Issues may be reworded or combined with similar Issues. Modifications to Issues or attachments from the submitter are restricted. Every effort should be made to ensure your original submission is complete and accurate.
If modifications are necessary, submitters are required to:
- Notify the Council Chair in advance.
- Provide an electronic version (transportable memory or CD) for the Council Scribe.
- Provide 25 paper copies for Council members.
- Present changes/modifications in a strikeout/underline format.
- Date and time the new document to reduce confusion with previous versions.
Final Council recommendations are limited to:
- Accept as written.
- Accept as amended.
- No Action - with reason.
The final Council recommendations are printed and available the day before the Assembly of Delegates.
4. ASSEMBLY OF DELEGATE VOTE
On the last day of the Biennial Meeting, Council Chairs present final Council recommendations to the Assembly of Delegates who vote to either accept Issues as recommended by the Council or extract specific Issues for further discussion.
If extracted for discussion, the recommended Council action can either be accepted as written, or rejected. Rejecting a Council recommendation means that the Council action is reversed.
5. CONFERENCE ACTION
The final action taken by the Conference on each Issue will depend on the vote of the Assembly of Delegates and the action as written in the final Issue recommendation. Actions include:
- Establishing new committees and appointing Committee Chairs.
- Referring new charges to existing Committees.
- Corresponding with organizations and agencies such as FDA, USDA, and CDC according to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Conference and each agency.