DENVER, Colo. – This week, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Awarded by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) It partners with government environmental health programs in state, local, territorial and tribal jurisdictions across the country to strengthen regulated retail food programs and practices. This funding marks the second three-year cycle the organization has been awarded to assist jurisdictions in preventing foodborne illnesses.
“We are honored to lead this transformative program to improve food safety,” said NEHA Chief Executive Officer Dr. David Dijak. “Receiving this award reflects the dedication of our team, the government’s retail food safety experts, and the overall accomplishments of our first three-year grant cycle.”
This grant program is designed to help jurisdictions bring their retail food safety practices into compliance with FDA’s voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards). Complying with the Retail Program Standards is one of the most important steps a jurisdiction can take to improve retail food safety.
The NEHA model consolidates three previous grant programs into one, making the approach to grantees more flexible and responsive to jurisdictions’ capabilities and goals. In its first three-year grant cycle, the program provided approximately $25 million to 375 jurisdictions in 46 states to improve retail food safety practices and ultimately protect communities from foodborne illnesses.
This award from the FDA is the second significant federal cooperative agreement NEHA has won for 2024, after winning a competitive five-year award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July to support the knowledge, skills and expertise of the environmental public health workforce.
“These investments demonstrate the federal agency’s confidence in NEHA’s ability to partner and collaborate with state, local, territorial and tribal jurisdictions to deliver significant public health improvements,” said Dr. Dijak.
For more information about the NEHA-FDA RFFM Grant Program, please visit: neha.org/retailgrants.
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The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) represents more than 7,100 government, private, academic and uniformed environmental health professionals in the United States, its territories and internationally. NEHA advances the field of environmental health by advocating for evidence-based policy, providing professional development and resources for environmental health practitioners, and promoting research and education.
Environmental health professionals are at the core of the public health workforce, protecting the environment and promoting sustainable practices. These highly trained scientists protect vulnerable communities from environmental health risks and contribute to the overall well-being of individuals, families and businesses by ensuring communities have clean air, safe food and water, and a healthy environment in which to live, work and play.
