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Food Safety Review Council

The Food Safety Review Council is a partnership between industry, government, academia, and the consumer. The partnership was formed in 2003 to increase consistency among local health departments and their interpretations of the state food service rules.

Mission

The mission of the Food Safety Review Council is to promote food safety through the consistent application of the Washington State Food Code.

Purpose

The Food Safety Review Council works in partnership with the Department of Health in developing advisory technical interpretations of the state food service regulations and other matters relating to Chapter 246-215 Washington Administrative Code.

Meetings

March 15, 2012
June 21, 2012
September 27, 2012
December 13, 2012

Meetings are held in Kent and scheduled quarterly. Meetings may be cancelled due to lack of submitted issues.

Scope

The scope of the Council is limited to:

• Interpretation of food handling practices and processes.

• Direction for application of WAC 246-215 to new and emerging food handling practices and processes.

• Guidance on “equivalency” determinations.

• Identifying gaps in WAC 246-215 and providing recommendations for revisions to the State Board of Health.

• Facilitating communications to all stakeholders regarding the Council's activities and actions.

Structure

The Council has 13 permanent members. Council representation is as follows:

• Restaurant - 2 (1 small, 1 large)

• Grocery - 2 (1 small, 1 large)

• Schools or Institutions - 1

• At-large - 1 (to be decided by industry representatives)

• Consumer/Academia -1

• Food and Drug Administration - 1

• Local Health Jurisdictions - 4 (2 from east side of state and 2 from west side of the state)

• Washington State Department of Health -1

Member Term of Service

Each member shall have a 4-year term. No term limits apply. 

Chair and Vice-Chair

Each September, the chair and vice-chair of the Council are nominated and elected from the board membership and serve a 1-year term. The chair of the Council alternates between a representative from the industry and a representative from public health. If the chair is an industry representative, the vice-chair must be a public health representative and vice-versa.

Issue Submission

Any person or entity may submit an issue to the Food Safety Review Council for consideration.

1. All issues must be submitted using the Issue Submission Form (Word 114KB).

2. The Council Coordinator reviews the issue to ensure that it fits within the scope of the Council. If it does, the submitter is notified of the date it will be placed on the Council's meeting agenda.

3. Issues that do not fall within the scope of the Council are returned to the submitter with an explanation of why it will not be reviewed by the Council.

   1. If the issue is outside of the scope of the Council but identifies a problem with consistency of implementation between counties, a copy shall be sent to the Chair of the Environmental Health Directors’ Association.

   2. If the issue is outside of the scope of the Council but identifies a problem within a specific county, a copy shall be sent to the Environmental Health Director and the Food Program Supervisor in the identified county.

4. In order to allow time for distribution to Council members, issues must be submitted to the Council Coordinator at least 60 days prior to the Council's next scheduled meeting date.

5. Issues will be considered in the order of priority as determined by the Council Coordinator and the Council Chair.

6. If an issue is tabled, the Council Coordinator will gather any additional information requested by the Council to assist the Council in making a recommendation. The original submitter will be notified of the status of the issue and the date of the meeting that the issue will be next discussed.

7. Once a specific issue has been submitted and considered by the Council, that issue cannot be submitted again unless there are new facts and circumstances that make it appropriate for the Council to reconsider the issue.

8. Once a recommendation has been developed and accepted by the Department of Health, the submitter will be notified of the final disposition of the issue.

For more information, contact the Food Safety Review Council Coordinator.