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Food Safety Programs

NEHA’s Food Safety Programs are dedicated to educating food safety and environmental health professionals.  These programs include:

Epi-Ready Team Training – NEHA, in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), offers a holistic face-to-face training opportunity to provide up-to-date foodborne disease outbreak investigation and surveillance training to public and private sector environmental health professionals as well as other professionals that have collaborated in conducting foodborne disease outbreak investigations.

Food-Safe Schools – NEHA, in cooperation with CDC, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other partner organizations, helps build the capacity of health and education departments to work within coordinated school health programs to prevent foodborne illnesses. The goals of this program are to build a framework of national partnerships, make organizations aware of the numerous resources that exist nationwide, and promote and distribute the Food-Safe Schools Action Guide toolkit.

NEHA Food Safety Training – One objective of NEHA is to improve the quality of food safety training in the U.S. by establishing a nationwide network of certified food safety trainers and by providing accurate and effective learning materials to trainers, managers, and employees in the food service industry. In supporting our mission, “to advance the environmental health and protection professional for the purpose of providing a healthful environment for all,” NEHA continually reviews existing educational resources and explores new training opportunities for all environmental health professionals.

In addition to the above programs, NEHA continually seeks potential funding sources and collaborations for food safety education, outreach, and research—for example, NEHA is currently researching funding opportunities on ethnic food safety. NEHA also receives regular funding for food safety education through CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s conference support grant programs.

2010 Food Safety Education Conference
March 23-26: "Advancements in Food Safety Education: Trends, Tools and Technologies," hosted by USDA/FSIS and NSF International, with additional support from HHS, FDA, CDC, WHO and the Partnership for Food Safety Education, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in Atlanta, GA. For more information, email Atlanta2010@nsf.org or visit www.fsis.usda.gov/atlanta2010.  Register now!

 

CIFOR Releases Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response
The Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response (CIFOR)  has released the Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response. This document is the result of an extensive development and review process involving all key federal agencies and Non-Government Organizations (NGO's) that represent food safety professionals. NEHA is pleased to have played a role in this process representing state and local environmental health food safety professionals. The document provides detailed information and recommendations for each step in a foodborne illness outbreak investigation. It will provide environmental health professionals with comprehensive information, action items, resources and best practices models to improve detection and response.

Press Release  

Download Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response

NEHA Joins with MindLeaders to Provide New Food Safety Training Programs
MindLeaders, Inc. and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) have announced a cooperative agreement that provides for the development and distribution of new online and instructor led food safety training programs. 

Handwashing on Trial: Avoiding a Guilty Verdict
This video of a mock trial based on a fictitious outbreak is from NEHA's 2007 Annual Education Conference & Exhibition in Atlantic City, NJ.  See an educational video and an example of the great opportunities available at our conferences!

Special Papers on Food Safety
As part of NEHA's efforts to provide environmental health professionals with a variety of valuable educational materials, we are featuring food safety articles that may be of interest to you.  

• Taking a Closer Look at Inspections, by Robert W. Powitz, Ph.D., MPH

Food Safety Information Web Sites

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food Safety Office
• Conference for Food Protection
• Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response
• FDA Reportable Food Registry
• Gateway to Government Food Safety Information
• NEHA’s Food Safety Resources Reviews
• NEHA’s Food Safety Publications and Products
• NEHA Food Safety Training
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Library
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Regulatory Affairs' On-line University