Alaska FSS Conformance with the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards

Alaska State Dept/Environmtl Conservatn, Juneau AK

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract: Though the State of Alaska Food Safety & Sanitation Program has made significant progress toward full conformance with all 10 elements of the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS), due several factors, including significant program reorganization, staff turnover, development of a new information management system, and changes to the MFRPS, the program continues to work diligently to achieve full conformance with some unmet standards and maintain conformance with the standards already met. Through Alaska's implementation of a new information management system (IMS) designed specifically with the overarching goals of standards achievement and data sharing across jurisdictions in mind, the program has reevaluated its procedures, forms, and workflows, a process that has been beneficial and will result in greater efficiencies and programmatic effectiveness, but requires revisions to various aspects of the program's current system. Additionally, the program held off in developing certain protocols, including some relating to quality assurance, instead prioritizing development of this critical IMS because of the recognition that this IMS will be invaluable in integrating data analyses with the development of programmatic priorities, thereby sustaining conformance and improving public health outcomes. Alaska's strategic plan builds on the program's current capacity, identifying tasks expected to be completed by the end of the one year cooperative agreement in order to achieve conformance with the standards it has not yet met and improve its ability to prevent, mitigate, and respond to foodborne illness. The plan focuses on the continued development and enhancement of the IMS (in particular, those functionalities that facilitate the systematic and effective integration of quality assurance and compliance data reviews), the development and revision of related protocols, and the performance of ongoing work to sustain conformance with standards already met. RFA-FD-17-005 Alaska Project Summary/Abstract