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NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS                               Print Media: 202-205-4144
April 28, 1998                                       
                                                     Consumer Inquiries: 800-532-4440

FDA ANNOUNCES PILOT FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM
FOR RETAIL SETTINGS

Expanding on the Clinton Administration's initiatives to ensure the safety of America's food supply, the Food and Drug Administration has asked for volunteers from the retail sector of the food industry to participate in a pilot program designed to reduce the risk of food borne illness. The retail sector includes restaurants, grocery stores, institutional food service and vending operations.

The retail food industry has expressed a willingness to work jointly with FDA on this pilot which will look at each food establishment's role in continuous problem solving and prevention, rather than relying on periodic facility inspections by regulatory agencies.

The pilot will test the implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), a food safety system, in retail settings. HACCP is a scientifically designed program that identifies the steps in a food production continuum where contamination is most likely to occur and then puts in place preventive controls.

HACCP principles can be applied by retail franchises or chains, by small independents, as well as by national or regional companies and can be integrated into the recipes and standard operating procedures of any size establishment. HACCP programs have recently been established for the seafood and meat and poultry processing industries. Last week FDA proposed a HACCP system for the packaged juice industry.

The principles of HACCP are used throughout FDA's Food Code, the voluntary guidance document the agency provides to state, local and tribal retail food regulators. Information from the retail food industry pilots announced today will give FDA the information it needs to fine-tune the guidance and approaches given in the Food Code for safe food preparation, services and sale in retail settings.

Volunteers will partner with interested state and local regulatory authorities to implement the programs in the pilot participants' retail establishments.

The retail HACCP pilot will be officially announced in an upcoming Federal Register.

FDA invited volunteers to participate in the pilot at this past weekend's meeting of the Conference for Food Protection (CFP) in Boston, Massachusetts. The meeting is a biennial event that brings together representatives from the food industry, state and local officials, federal government, academia, and consumers to identify and address emerging problems of food safety and to recommend solutions. The Conference fosters increased cooperation while balancing the interests of regulatory and industry representatives by providing an open forum for the consideration of ideas from any source.

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This is a mirror of the page at HTTP://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/NEW00638.html

HACCP for Retail--Managing Food Safety: A HACCP Principles Guide for Operators of Establishments at the Retail Level

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