iOn January 11, the FDA released an updated version of the “Procedures for Standardization of Retail Food Safety Inspection Officers,” which is one of the Agency’s means to reduce and prevent foodborne illnesses. The Procedures provide regulatory personnel the process and criteria for demonstrating proficiency in required performance areas. The FDA also released an updated “Standardization Field Workbook.”
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The Procedures are based on the FDA Food Code and are updated to reflect current Food Code provisions, as well as include more focus on foodborne illness risk factors, Food Code interventions, and application of the Principals of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). Updates to the Procedures include:
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Extending the time for completing at least 20 contact hours of training for re-standardization from 2 years to 3 years (Chapter 2);
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Clarifying job responsibility for conducting retail food safety standardization of other regulatory personnel within the eligibility requirement (Chapter 3);
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Highlighting food safety-related activities as the focus for meeting the Continuing Education and Training requirements (Chapter 3)
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Updating Standardization Suspension and Revocation section to make allowance for special circumstances (Chapter 3), and
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Replacing the Risk Control Plan example with a new example that utilizes a root cause analysis approach (Annex 3-2)
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As stated in the notice of publication, the FDA believes that “[i]t is critical that food safety personnel become Standardized through this process to ensure that retail foods are safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented at retail throughout the United States. A certificate of standardization as an FDA standardized food safety inspection officer is issued to all Candidates who successfully complete the standardization process.”
