Council Member Application

An Issue that has been submitted and meets acceptance criteria will be assigned to one of the three (3) Councils that are responsible for vetting Issues at the biennial meeting of the Conference for Food Protection.

  • COUNCIL I deliberates on Issues pertaining to laws, regulations, and model codes governing the safety of food.
  • COUNCIL II deliberates on Issues relating to program evaluation, education, training, and certification as well as Issues regarding the CFP Constitution and Bylaws, procedures, and memoranda of understanding.
  • COUNCIL III deliberates on Issues of food science and technology related to food safety.

After deliberating each Issue, Councils may accept an Issue recommendation as submitted, amend the Issue recommendation, vote to take no action, or vote to refer the Issue to another Council. Examples of Council recommendations include referring a list of charges to a CFP committee, assigning directives to the CFP Executive Board, or requesting a letter be sent to one or more federal agencies with a recommendation for future action.

At the close of Council deliberation, all final Issue recommendations are submitted to the Assembly consisting of designated Delegates from food regulatory agencies representing 50 states, 6 territories, and the District of Columbia. Each state has one vote, which may be divided equally in states with multiple food regulatory programs, while the 6 territories and the District of Columbia each have ½ vote. The Assembly convenes on the last day of the biennial meeting. The Assembly may accept or reject a Council's recommendation on each Issue; the Assembly may not edit a Council's recommendation.

Council Formation

Each Council is formed according to Articles XI-XIII of the CFP Constitution and Bylaws. Selection criteria for membership is based on regulatory and industry balance, geographic distribution, balanced representation among CFP constituencies, and levels of experience in CFP such as committee participation.

The Council member application process for the 2025 Biennial Meeting in Denver, Colorado will be in held in the summer of 2024. All CFP members will be notified by email when the application window opens. There is no fee to complete your application; however, submission of your application indicates an obligation to register for the upcoming Biennial Meeting.