乐播传媒

August 13, 2024

Denver, CO 鈥� Foodborne illness costs the U.S. economy more than $15 billion each year in associated medical expenses and lost workplace productivity. The 乐播传媒 (NEHA), the nation鈥檚 leader in environmental health workforce development, has published three articles describing the outcomes of the NEHA-FDA Retail Flexible Funding Model (RFFM) Grant Program designed to reduce foodborne illness in retail food settings.

Through the grant program, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has invested more than $25 million in state, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions nationwide since 2022 to improve their retail food safety practices and ultimately protect their communities from foodborne illness.

鈥淭o ensure the program is meeting the needs of local communities, we investigated the return on investment of the program, its impact on the health of under-resourced and economically marginalized communities, and the training needs of the workforce,鈥� said Dr. David Dyjack, NEHA Chief Executive Officer.

NEHA鈥檚 first published article on the topic, , published in the Journal of Food Protection demonstrates that RFFM Grant Program investments are being made in socially disadvantaged communities. The investments can help to build and sustain local environmental public health systems.

NEHA鈥檚 article titled was published in the Journal of 乐播传媒 and reports on a 2022 national survey of retail food regulatory professionals to determine workforce training needs. The article examines demographic frequencies and associations between demographic factors and job levels.

The third article, , also published in the Journal of 乐播传媒, details NEHA鈥檚 approach to assessing the relevance of and exposure to retail food regulatory knowledge areas. The analysis shows areas of high priority, which can be used to help plan for future training.

The funding from the RFFM Grant Program helps to ensure food safety practices are aligned with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS or RPS), which can help a jurisdiction advance its retail food safety efforts.

More information about the NEHA-FDA RFFM Grant Program is available at neha.org/retail-grants.

-neha.org 鈥�

The 乐播传媒 (NEHA) represents more than 7,100 governmental, private, academic, and uniformed services sector environmental health professionals in the U.S., its territories, and internationally. NEHA is the profession鈥檚 strongest advocate for excellence in the practice of environmental health as it delivers on its mission to build, sustain, and empower an effective environmental health workforce.