Past Policies

We have adopted many policies, some of which are no longer current. This page lists policies no longer considered a current. Even though they are out-of-date, these policies convey the intents of the membership and environmental health community.

  • July 2019: Policy Statement on the Adoption and Implementation of the Current Food and Drug Administration's Food Code | PDF
    • We recommend the complete adoption and implementation of the current Food and Drug Administration model Food Code by all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governmental agencies to promote the most current knowledge on food safety.
  • November 2018: Food Safety for Cottage Foods and Home-Based Restaurants I PDF
    • We advocate for national, state, and local policies, regulations, research, and resources that will enhance the ability of environmental health professionals to regulate cottage foods and home-based restaurants in order to protect public health.
  • July 2017: Sale or Distribution of Raw Milk | PDF
    • We recognize the scientific and public health evidence that pasteurization of milk is proven to be a sound method of preventing milk-borne disease.
  • July 2017: Uniform and Integrated Food Safety System Adoption | PDF
    • We recommend the integration and adoption of uniform and current best practices in food safety by state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies, along with industry food safety professionals.
  • March 2016: Policy Priorities on Water | PDF
    • Environmental health is profoundly local and environmental health professionals mediate some of the most intimate parts of our lives: the food we place in our baby's mouths, the control of insects like mosquitos, and the water that rehydrates children after play time.
  • September 2014:Recognition of World Environmental Health Day | PDF
    • We recognize World Environmental Health Day. The practice of environmental health throughout the world is critical to the well-being of humankind and the protection of the earth's resources.
  • August 2014: Position to Support the Registered Environmental Health/Registered Sanitarian Credential for Environmental Health Professionals | PDF
    • We assert that employing credentialed REHS and RS staff working in well managed and effective programs results in an overall economic gain for the community based on disease prevention, extended lives, enhanced productivity, and reduced lost time from work.
  • July 2013: Adoption of New Definitions of the Terms "Environmental Health" and "Environmental Health Professional" | PDF
    • We recently approved newly revised definitions of the terms "environmental health" and "environmental health professional" at the July 2013 board of directors meeting in Crystal City, Virginia.
  • April 2012: Resolution: Consensus on Cottage Food Movement | PDF
    • Resolution that states that businesses or any individual engaged in production of non-TCS Food as part of a defined cottage foods industry should be registered with the appropriate state/local/tribal regulatory food safety or public health agency.
  • April 2012: Resolution to Recognize and Reaffirm the Public Health Value of Optimal Community Water Fluoridation | PDF
    • Dental caries and tooth decay are largely preventable disease processes that affect people without regard for age, race, ethnicity or income. Over the last six decades, community water fluoridation has contributed to reduced incidence, prevalence and severity of dental caries and tooth decay in the United States.
  • July 2010: Off Shore Oil Drilling Position Paper | PDF
    • The destructive explosions and fire at the BP (formerly British Petroleum) Deepwater Horizon offshore well located off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico April 20, 2010 led to the tragic death of eleven workers and caused numerous additional injuries.
  • July 2010: Letter to ICC re: Model Codes for Regulating Construction and Operation of Swimming Pools and Spas | PDF
    • We are very concerned that these two initiatives will result in the development of overlapping and conflicting model codes regulating the construction and operation of these facilities. Environmental health officials have historically worked closely with building officials in the plan review and construction inspection phases of the development or renovation of aquatic facilities including swimming pools, spas, water parks and interactive water features.
  • April 2007: Environmental Public Health Tracking
    • A 2001 report issued by the Pew Environmental Health Commission report called, "America's Environmental Health Gap; Why the Country Needs a Nationwide Health Tracking Network for Disease and Exposures" stated that current tracking efforts are fragmented, uncoordinated, and inadequate. The Institute of Medicine also reported that there is too little attention to health aspects of environmental problems.