Alaska Conformance with the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards

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Project Summary/Abstract The State of Alaska Food Safety and Sanitation (FSS) Program provides direct public health and regulatory oversight of manufactured food establishments, retail food establishments, public facilities, and shellfish shippers, producers, and processors throughout Alaska. In July 2008, Alaska enrolled in the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards (MFRPS), recognized critical elements in creating a national, fully integrated food safety system that are intended to enhance food safety by establishing a uniform basis for measuring and improving the performance of manufactured food regulatory programs in the United States. Conformance with these standards assists both federal and state programs in better directing their regulatory activities at reducing foodborne illness hazards in manufactured food plants. Additionally, by conforming to the standards, the state offers FDA the foundation for pursuing regulatory action based on findings of state-conducted inspections and other regulatory activities. Consequently, the safety and security of the United States food supply will improve. Alaska has assessed its program and has developed a comprehensive strategic plan to continuously improve program areas that do not meet a particular standard with the intention of achieving full conformance by year five of this proposed cooperative agreement. Under this proposed cooperative agreement, Alaska's objectives are to develop, implement, and maintain program policies and procedures, provide training so that the staff are aware of the policies and procedures, and verify that the policies and procedures are being followed. Additionally, Alaska will perform comprehensive self-assessments, updating its strategic plan accordingly, and fully participate in initiatives supporting the MFRPS with the goal of implementing a risk-based program that continuously improves over time.