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Clare Sinacori
From: Clare Sinacori
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 2:13 PM
Subject: News Release: NEHA Awarded FDA Food Safety Cooperative Agreement to Build
Capacity for State and Local Regulatory Agencies
NEHA News
Release
CONTACT: Clare Sinacori, 303-756-9090 ext. 319
csinacori@neha.org
NEHA Marketing and Communications Manager
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 26, 2015
NEHA Awarded FDA Food Safety Cooperative Agreement to Build Capacity for
State and Local Regulatory Agencies
DENVER—The National Environmental Health Association has been awarded a five-year, $5 million
cooperative agreement to develop and implement critically needed training for state, local, territorial, and tribal
food safety agencies. This training will assist the FDA in meeting the requirements of Section 209(a) of the
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and fully develop an integrated food safety system (IFSS).
Under the agreement, NEHA will also research training needs for IFSS food and feed inspectors and
regulators, train instructors to meet FDA-identified competencies, oversee/audit course instructors, deliver
IFSS food-related training courses, and develop new courses based on feedback from the training needs
assessment responses.
“A safe and secure food supply is a profoundly local issue. This supply is safeguarded by local
environmental health professionals, whose capacity will be further enhanced through training provided as an
outcome of this investment. This means every American family can trust the public health system is working
tirelessly to protect and promote their health,” said Dr. David Dyjack, NEHA’s executive director and chief
executive officer.
Through this cooperative agreement which begins September 1, 2015, NEHA will present a framework
that will enable state and local agencies to easily receive FDA-sanctioned courses under IFSS food programs,

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as well as supporting the efforts of FDA by maintaining training records for course participants and instructors,
and issuing course certificates to those who successfully complete training.
NEHA’s long history in food safety dates back to 1937 with the development of registered
environmental health specialist/registered sanitarian (REHS/RS) who were among the first health professionals
charged with inspecting and regulating our food supply. Additional food safety credentials have since been
developed by NEHA, Certified Professional – Food Safety (CP-FS) and Certified in Comprehensive Food
Safety (CCFS) – which further establish requirements for specialized training and demonstrated knowledge in
the safe procurement, storage, handling, preparation, and distribution of food.
“NEHA’s previous success with collaborative, cross-functional trainings that improve relationships and
open lines of communication between the retail food industry and local food regulatory agencies, gives us a
strong foundation to further build training and education that meets the needs of the full spectrum of food
safety training audiences,” said Dyjack.
In the past three years, NEHA with FDA funding has launched Industry - Foodborne Illness
Investigation Training and Recall Response (IFIIT-RR) trainings aimed to assist industry and regulators in
producing a more rapid, efficient, and effective response to foodborne illness incidents and food recalls. The
trainings also identify the steps in recall and outbreak response, clarify roles and responsibilities of each
before, during, and after a potential incident, and determine control measures based on model practices that
rapidly and effectively prevent further transmission of illness.
In 2013 at the request of the Council to Improve Food Outbreak Response (CIFOR), NEHA issued a
special report, Assessment of Foodborne Illness Outbreak Response, which highlighted some of the staff
capacity challenges, budget issues, and training needs for local and state agencies to effectively respond to
foodborne illness outbreaks.
About the National Environmental Health Association
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is a professional organization with 5,000 members in
the public and private sectors as well as in universities and uniformed services. It publishes the peer-reviewed
Journal of Environmental Health (JEH) ten times per year providing a valuable resource for the complete
spectrum of environmental health topics. NEHA's mission, "to advance the environmental health and protection
professional for the purpose of providing a healthful environment for all" is fulfilled in the products and services
offered by NEHA through credentialing, training, education, networking, professional development, and policy
involvement. Learn more about NEHA at www.neha.org.
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