Sunday, May 11, 2025
5/11/2025
Achieving Conformance with FDA Standards 2 & 4 - Pima County Health Department RFA-FD-20-012 Achieving Conformance with FDA Standards 2 & 4 The Pima County Health Department Consumer Health and Food Safety Division (CHFS or the Division) requests $65,191.91 to achieve full conformance with Standard 2 and Standard 4 of the Food and Drug Administration's Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (FDA VNRFRPS). CHFS has been enrolled in the VNRFRPS since 2015. An award will ensure all staff, a total of twenty two (22) employees, complete field standardization and can serve as effective Food Safety Inspection Officers (FSIO). Field standardization ensures retail food businesses are subject to the same standards of scrutiny, protecting public health and reducing the incidence of illnesses connected with unsafe food- handling practices. The CHFS program currently has only one individual certified by the Arizona Department of Health Services as a Standardized FSIO, limiting the amount of training and Standardizing inspections that can be conducted for the Division. In order to reach full conformance with Standard 2: Trained Regulatory Staff, and Standard 4: Uniform Inspection Program, the Division will accomplish the following project objectives: 1) Initiate standardization of the CHFS Training Team with Arizona Department of Health Services; 2) Standardize Environmental Health Specialists as outlined in Standard 2 Step 4: Food Safety Inspection Officer - Field Standardization; 3) complete pre- and post-courses featured in the FDA's curriculum for Retail Food Safety Inspection Officers; 4) Send staff to environmental health conferences to gain experience and build relationships with other local health departments advancing conformance with retail food regulation standards; and 5) Provide adequate time for Environmental Health Specialists and Environmental Health Supervisors to complete routine inspections and assessments in order to demonstrate program effectiveness. Completing these project objectives will allow the Division to achieve full conformance with Standards 2 and 4, which will in turn reduce contributing risk factors associated with foodborne illness. Success of this program will be indicated by the number of staff certified as standardized FSIOs, the number of staff who attend national conferences or FDA trainings, the number of uniform inspections completed, and the number pre- and post-course hours completed by staff.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).