Strengthening Retail Food Safety Systems Through Collaboration - AFDO will collaborate with FDA, CDC, and national partner organizations to identify barriers, evaluate successful practices, and expand the use of evidence-based tools that strengthen retail food regulatory programs to reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors. Serving state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) retail food regulatory agencies nationwide, the project will use surveys, assessments, workgroups, resource development, and technical assistance to improve program performance and workforce capacity. Findings will strategically inform best practices and implementation strategies that support Food Code adoption, risk-based inspection methods application, Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) participation, as well as improve foodborne outbreak preparedness, encourage food safety management system use, and enhance communications across the retail food safety system. Project goals are to strengthen the effectiveness of state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) retail food regulatory programs by identifying opportunities and barriers to program improvement, advancing risk-based inspection and prevention strategies, enhancing foodborne illness response and outbreak preparedness, increasing industry adoption of food safety management systems that support active managerial control and food safety culture, and improving communication and collaboration among regulatory agencies and retail food industry partners nationwide. Project outcomes will be measured through participation and engagement of jurisdictions and stakeholders; completion and dissemination of assessments, data analyses, and trend reports; implementation and utilization of program improvement tools and resources, including the AI-Assisted Inspector Coach; adoption and promotion of outbreak preparedness and investigation resources; participation in workgroups, regulatory forums, and Conference for Food Protection activities; and the scope and reach of outreach, training, and communication efforts conducted in collaboration with FDA, industry associations, and retail food partners.
