LIBERTY, Mo. – The Clay County Public Health Center (CCPHC) has been recognized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as one of only nine environmental health programs in the country to meet the agency’s highest standards for food safety regulation. This significant achievement highlights the department’s decade-long commitment to ensuring food safety and public health.
For the past ten years, CCPHC has worked diligently to pass a rigorous verification audit and fulfill all nine FDA Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards. These standards set a high bar for food safety programs, requiring them to develop comprehensive regulatory staff training, maintain consistency with national inspection criteria, establish emergency response capabilities, conduct regular self-assessments, and engage with industry and community partners. The ultimate objective of these efforts is to minimize risk factors associated with foodborne illnesses.
“We want to be the most effective and responsive environmental health program we can be,” said Director of Public Health Darrell Meinke. “The work we’ve done to accomplish these standards will have a positive impact on the health of the people in our community for many years to come. I am extremely proud of our staff, past and present, for their efforts to achieve this recognition.”
Clay County Public Health now joins an elite group of just nine programs nationwide that have successfully met all nine FDA standards, earning the prestigious Certificate of Achievement. Of the 3,300 environmental health programs in the United States, only 980 are currently participating in the FDA Retail Food Program Standards, demonstrating the rarity and significance of Clay County’s accomplishment.
“The performance measures specified for each of the nine standards are not minimum criteria, but instead represent a high benchmark to which a regulatory retail food program should aspire,” said Kimberly Destromp, acting office director of the FDA’s Office of Retail Food Protection. “Active participation in this program clearly demonstrates a remarkable level of commitment to achieving program excellence.”
Clay County Public Health Center’s environmental health program is currently led by Section Chief Robert Gilliland and consists of a team of nine employees. The department oversees 745 food establishments across Clay County, conducting routine and complaint-based inspections, training food handlers and managers, and providing resources to help businesses comply with health regulations. In addition to food safety oversight, the program also monitors pools and spas, hotels, septic systems, and vector (mosquito) control efforts.
By meeting the FDA’s highest standards, the Clay County Public Health Center continues to demonstrate its unwavering dedication to safeguarding public health and preventing foodborne illnesses in the community.
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