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Food Safety Education Month

Each September, we celebrate National Food Safety Education Month by highlighting the tools and resources we offer around food safety education, and recognizing our members who work diligently to maintain safe food across the country. Our food safety programs are dedicated to educating food safety and environmental health professionals, and informing and improving preparedness, response, and prevention of foodborne diseases year-round.

We would like to take this opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of those in the food safety workforce. We value the commitment food safety professionals have made to this field. We are excited to fight foodborne illness alongside you as we continue to learn, share, and support each other.

Food Safety Legislation and Policy Trends Webinar

During the 2022 legislative session, policymakers made substantive changes in the manner food is prepared and sold in this country, and Congress oversaw and funded the food safety efforts at the FDA, USDA, and CDC. This webinar will review the laws passed and appropriations funded regarding food safety at both the state and federal levels.

Watch this webinar to learn more about food safety policy from members of our government affairs and food safety teams.

Policy Statements

These statements set forth our organizational beliefs on food safety and have been shared with state, local, and federal policymakers, as well as relevant environmental and public health boards.

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration Model Food Code, July 2022 | PDF
    • We believe that the complete adoption of the current FDA model Food Code in retail food establishments will likely reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses.
  • Food Freedom Operations, January 2022 | PDF
    • We support food safety regulatory oversight to ensure foods sold under food freedom laws, produced in cottage food operations and offered in home-based restaurants meet food safety standards that keep the public safe from harm.
  • Food Safety, November 2021 | PDF
    • We recognize the need for safe food handling practices at every step of food production, from the farm to processing, transportation, and preparation at the retail food level. We support preventive measures to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness.
  • Uniform and Integrated Food Safety System Adoption, November 2021 | PDF
    • We recommend the adoption of current best practices in food safety by state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies, along with industry food safety professionals. This adoption will ensure the safety of our nation's food supply by moving toward a fully integrated and uniform national food safety system.
  • Point-of-Service Food Inspection Disclosure, February 2021 | PDF
    • We joined the National Network of Public Health Institutes, Dining Safety Alliance, and investigators at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health to recommend that federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governmental agencies mandate the posting of food inspection results at the point-of-service.
  • Raw Milk, October 2020 | PDF
    • We recognize the nutritional value of milk, as well as the scientific evidence that raw milk can transmit pathogenic bacteria to the consumer. We further recognize the scientific and public health evidence that pasteurization of milk is proven to be a sound method of preventing milk-borne disease.
  • Enrollment and Conformance With the Food and Drug Administration Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards, October 2020 | PDF
    • We recommend all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governmental agencies enroll in the Food and Drug Administration Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards to implement current national standards that outline a process of program self-assessment and continuous improvement of existing regulatory program measures to help reduce foodborne illness risk factors.
  • Food Safety as Related to the Consumption of Cannabis-Infused Food Products, October 2020 | PDF
    • We support the implementation of a regulation that contains sufficient regulatory authority to prevent illness from cannabis-infused food products and recommends the adoption of current best practices in food safety and the following policies and actions.

Federal partners celebrating National Food Safety Education Month:

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Website
  • CDC's Water, Food, and Environmental Health Services Branch | Website
  • Food and Drug Administration | Website

Learn More

  • Set the Table: Improving Restaurant Food Safety Through Science and Practice Webinar, Sept. 2022, CDC and EH Nexus Webinar | YouTube
  • July/August 2022 Journal of Environmental Health cover article presents a competency framework for environmental health professionals who detect, investigate, and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks | Webpage
  • NEHA Food Safety Credentials for food safety professionals who want to advance their careers and become experts in their respective fields | Webpage
  • NEHA Food Safety Certificate Programs are designed for people working in food facilities to increase food safety knowledge, practices, and controls | Webpage
  • NEHA advocates at all levels of government using policy statements, legislative actions, letters, and more | Webpage
  • NEHA offers a broad range of food safety resources including our E-Learning courses, food publications, policy statements, and more | Webpage