September 2019: Direct From CDC/Environmental Health Services
Direct From CDC/Environmental Health Services Column
September 2019 Journal of Environmental Health (Volume 82, Number 2)
Editor's Note: NEHA strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we feature a column on environmental health services from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in every issue of the Journal.
In these columns, authors from CDC's Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch, as well as guest authors, will share insights and information about environmental health programs, trends, issues, and resources. The conclusions of these columns are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of CDC.
Food Safety: Environmental Health Data Matter
Beth Wittry, MPH, REHS,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
James Mack, MPA, REHS, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection
Description
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Environmental Assessment Reporting System (NEARS) is a surveillance system that captures data collected through the environmental health component (i.e., environmental assessment) of foodborne illness outbreak investigations in retail food establishments. These environmental assessment data, typically collected by environmental health staff, can provide valuable information about contributing factors and environmental antecedents to outbreaks. NEARS data can be used to improve retail food safety prevention efforts. Furthermore, NEARS data collected and analyzed at the national level can provide data valuable to improving outbreak prevention and investigation practices.
This month's column provides an example of how one jurisdiction is using NEARS to improve its prevention and investigation practice. The column also provides examples of how CDC is working to support the increased use of NEARS and empower food safety programs to conduct and report environmental assessments.