The first component of the SWUPHD Environmental Health Department (EHD) new Risk Based Inspection Implementation Program (RBIIP) involves a significant increase to the training of internal and external stakeholders - so that increased awareness, retained knowledge, experience and active managerial control skills of participating individuals will lead to noteworthy reductions of hazards and other risk factors known to cause or contribute to food- borne illness. This training would include information about plan reviews and advanced food preparation techniques such as reduced oxygen packaging and sushi preparation. The second ingredient of the SWUPHD-EHD new RBIIP concerns a considerable increase in the number of visits and time spent at food handler sites annually, in an effort to magnify the compliance percentages across the board within the SWUPHD-EHD jurisdictional boundaries. Accomplishing this objective will involve hiring one additional full-time Environmental Health Scientist in the department to allow for additional time to be spent (quantitatively and qualitatively) at the various sites served. The final element of the SWUPHD-EHD new RBIIP incorporates new communication strategies amongst all SWUPHD stakeholders. These additional measures will include a quarterly newsletter delivered electronically (preferably) or via standard mail to all entities served within geographical jurisdiction; an annual food safety town-hall meeting at various MSA's within each of the five jurisdictional counties served (one in each per year); the development, delivery and collection of an annual feedback survey (preferably in electronic format within the current agency website) involving all SWUPHD-EHD constituents within jurisdictional boundaries in an effort to collect, analyze and improve agency philosophies and practices toward garnering the affective organizational commitment of all interested stakeholders; and the creation of a public inspection notice section on the current agency website for public viewing and awareness. Additional resources applicable to the successful implementation and sustainability of the three primary factors of the SWUPHD-EHD new RBIIP will include an annual appropriation for professional grant writing and reporting fees; supplemental office supplies and technological support equipment (updated computers); and annual compensation raises for SWUPHD-EHD staff.
The Southwest Utah Public Health Department (SWUPHD) offers the following Risk- Based Inspection Implementation Plan (RBIIP) in response to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) federal grant opportunity entitled Limited Competition: Advancing Conformance with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) (U18). The newly designed SWUPHD 'RBIIP' will greatly assist the SWUPHD - Environmental Health Department (EHD) with advancing organizational efforts within its assigned jurisdiction - Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington Counties in the state of Utah...toward improving and building upon existing programs that will more readily align with a nationally integrated food safety system and VNRFRP standards by reducing the risk factors known to cause or contribute to food-borne illness; promoting active managerial controls of such risk factors; and enhancing the alignment of the SWUPHD-EHD with the Retail Program Standards (RPS) framework concerning both traditional and emerging approaches to food safety.
