The Richmond County Health Department was awarded the Certificate of Achievement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for outstanding commitment to retail food safety and the continuous improvement of the retail food regulatory program as demonstrated by meeting all nine of the FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. In fact, Richmond County is the only county in the nation to achieve such an accomplishment this year.
The FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards constitute a highly effective and responsive program for the regulation of foodservice and retail food establishments to help ensure the safety and security of the food supply at the retail level, based on public health performance measurements.
These performance measures focus on reducing the occurrence of factors that contribute to foodborne illness within retail food establishments. The performance measures specified for each of the nine standards are not minimum criteria, but instead represent a high benchmark to which a regulatory retail food program should aspire.
Richmond County Environmental Health enrolled in the FDA Voluntary Retail Standards Program in 2013. Through the leadership of Deputy Director Holly Haire and Environmental Health Specialist Traci Stevens, their level of commitment and on-going efforts to enhance public health services to the community is commendable. They both worked diligently by developing strategic plans and completing all best practice recommendations to meet all nine standards.
As a result of this achievement, the Richmond County Environmental Health Department was publicly recognized at the Retail Food Protection Seminar in Asheville on July 26, 2023, and by the National Environmental Health Association at the Retail Flexible Funding Model Mentorship Program in Arlington, Virginia on Oct. 19, 2023.
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) visited Richmond County Health Department last week to review its policies and observe the daily operation to see how a small rural county in North Carolina can obtain such a distinction. NACCHO is the only organization dedicated to serving every local health department in the nation to improve the health of communities by strengthening and advocating for local health departments. Results of the visit include plans to view Richmond County Health Department as a model and training tool for other health departments in small rural counties.
