Through the Flexible Funding Model ? Infrastructure Development and Maintenance for State Manufactured Food Regulatory Programs, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Health, Food Protection Program (BEH/FPP) will maintain conformance with the most current version of the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS) as well as support coordinated federal/state/local Human and Animal Food (HAF) emergency response efforts. Continued conformance with the MFRPS will ensure that Massachusetts? manufactured food regulatory program maintains best practices for a high-quality regulatory program to reduce foodborne illness hazards in plants that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods. BEH/FPP will continue to regulate and inspect its 2,069 food manufacturers statewide, including licensed and non-licensed facilities and firms under shellfish and dairy cooperative program inspections. The RRT will rapidly and effectively address food emergencies, such as foodborne illness outbreaks, using a system of incident management, laboratory testing, epidemiologic investigations, traceback and recall operations, public and internal communications, data sharing, and trainings. The Massachusetts RRT program will continue to be an active member of the Working Group on Foodborne Illness Control to support an integrated response capacity. BEH/FPP will continue to support the national infrastructure with continuing participation in the mentorship program. BEH/FPP will collaborate closely with federal, state, and local public health partners, industry, and other stakeholders as well as with agencies and organizations in food/feed manufacturing, distribution, and protection to support its technical and operational foundation for RRT maintenance. Measures to meet goals and objectives will be carried out within the framework of the US FDA cooperative agreement. BEH/FPP is committed, through its participation in this cooperative agreement, to maintain and strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of food safety and protection in Massachusetts and beyond.
Through this cooperative agreement, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Health/ Food Protection Program will maintain conformance with the most current version of the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS) and will support continuation of its Rapid Response Team?s (RRT) capacity to respond to food/feed incidents. The Massachusetts MFRPS Program will continue to ensure and maintain best public health practices for a high-quality regulatory program to reduce foodborne illness hazards in plants that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods. The Massachusetts RRT Program will support and facilitate long-term improvements and innovation to the national integrated food safety system by unifying and coordinating federal/state/local human and animal food (HAF) emergency response efforts through the following: strong linkages between epidemiology, laboratory, and environmental health/regulatory programs and staff; implementation of Incident Command System (ICS)/National Incident Management System (NIMS) principles and a Unified Command structure to conduct integrated responses to all-hazards HAF emergencies; and the incorporation of training, data sharing, data analysis, communications, and development of best practices and other resources to support national capacity/capability development.
