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Issue Number: Council I 004

Title

Review and clarify Food Establishment Plan Review guidance documents

Issue you would like the Conference to consider

There are currently two documents generated by the Conference for Food Protection addressing plan review for food establishments:

  • On the CFP website, there is a document with a publication date of 2000 and titled "Food Establishment Plan Review Guideline." This document indicates it was prepared by the Northeast Region Plan Review Development Committee for the Conference for Food Protection.
  • The FDA currently uses a document titled "Plan Review for Food Establishments" in their plan review training classes with a draft date of May 2008. This document indicates it was developed by the Conference for Food Protection's Plan Review Committee and the FDA.

A preliminary review of the more recent 2008 "draft" document indicates that numerous areas are in need of correction, revision, or clarification; for example:

  1. Failure to address common hazards associated with each food process type and necessary control measures.
  2. Failure to address allergens in reference to menu and food flow.
  3. Lack of examples of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for food preparation.
  4. Outdated examples that do not meet current industry standards regarding sneeze guards / food shields, or hand drying facilities.
  5. Lack of source document reference for recommended calculations (e.g., refrigeration and dry storage capacity, methods to determine hot water demand).
  6. Incomplete information on water supply and sewage disposal recommendations.
  7. Failure to address chemical storage requirements such as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
  8. Included graphics are often too general and fail to clearly emphasize the point of the graphic.
  9. Failure to reference jurisdictional authority or responsibility regarding changes made to plans after jurisdictional approval.
  10. Typographical errors.

Public Health Significance

Lack of an up-to-date single source document leads to confusion among industry members in their attempt to promote an efficient and safe facility layout and flow of food, and leads to confusion among regulators tasked with conducting food facility plan review.

Recommended Solution: The Conference recommends...

1. The document titled "Food Establishment Plan Review Guideline" (publication date 2000) be immediately removed from the CFP website and replaced with the more current document titled "Plan Review for Food Establishments" (draft publication date May 2008).

2. That a committee be formed and charged to:

a. Review and update the 2008 draft document titled "Plan Review for Food Establishments" into a "final" document that includes current best practices for an intended audience of both industry and regulators.

b. Report back its findings to the 2016 Conference for Food Protection biennial meeting.

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