1. What Is the CRFSC and Why Does It Exist?
2. What Are the Coalition’s Goals and Objectives?
3. Who Are the Members of the Coalition?
4. How Are Issues Considered and Decisions Are Made by the Coalition?
5. What Has the Coalition Accomplished? It is safe to say that the CRFSC has proven to be spectacularly successful.

What Is the CRFSC and Why Does It Exist?

The California Retail Food Safety Coalition (CRFSC) was formed in December 1993 as the “Committee to Review CURFFL”[1]^/ when a group of interested parties (local environmental health officials, the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Health Services (DHS), and various segments of the retail food service industry) met to discuss a number of troublesome issues which they all faced. The "founders" of the CRFSC were concerned about, among other things, the fact that during previous years there had been a rash of special-interest legislation that was introduced at the urging of selected members of the food service industry. Unfortunately, much of that new legislation was not based upon sound public health principles.

In addition, all of the interested parties recognized that the manner in which CURFFL was being enforced was very troublesome in that there was little uniformity between the various jurisdictions (i.e., counties) as to the manner in which CURFFL was interpreted or as to the nature and extent of the inspections that were conducted in each jurisdiction. Moreover, there was often a lack of uniformity within given jurisdictions as to the interpretation and enforcement of CURFFL. Lastly in this regard, there were many in the food service industry who felt strongly that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's “model” Food Code was a better body of food safety requirements and restrictions and should, therefore, be adopted in California in place of CURFFL.

Recognizing that there were many reasons for all of the various constituency groups involved in retail food service operations in California to act cooperatively in order to achieve both mutual short- and long-term objectives, the participants at the December 1993 meeting decided to create an informal working coalition consisting of representatives from the retail food service industry, local environmental health officials, and DHS.   This coalition was originally called the “Committee to Review CURFFL,” and its name was changed recently to the “California Retail Food Safety Coalition” in order to more accurately reflect the broadened scope of the group’s work.

The primary purposes of the CRFSC are:

1.      To provide a forum in which, and a process by which, all of the various constituency groups involved in retail food service operations in California can act cooperatively in order to achieve mutual short- and long-term objectives.

2.      To identify industry and state and local health-official concerns and evaluate them in terms of provisions of CURFFL that might warrant revision.

3.      To engage in an ongoing process of reviewing and discussing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s model Food Code, in conjunction with CURFFL, with the intent of integrating key components from the Food Code into CURFFL if, as, and when it is deemed appropriate to do so.

4.      To (i) create a body of experts in the field of food safety that legislators and other decision makers  can call upon in order to evaluate proposed changes to the Health and Safety Code prior to the introduction of a proposed bill and thereby reduce the need for special interest legislation, and (ii) serve as a resource to the California Legislature and other elected officials, to regulators, to the public, and to all parties involved in any way with the retail food service industry in California.

5.      To serve as a body before which questions or disputes regarding the manner in which CURFFL should be interpreted and enforced can be presented and aired. It is intended that this process will result in conflicts which historically would have continued to cause problems and resulted in major controversies locally or at the statewide level have being considered and addressed in a manner that is acceptable to the interested parties.

6.      To achieve the maximum possible levels of uniformity and consistency, both within each jurisdiction and as between the various counties, in terms of the manner in which CURFFL is interpreted and enforced, and in terms of the manner in which inspections of food facilities are conducted.

7.      To promote the integration of science-based consideration into the promulgation and enforcement of food safety laws and regulations.

8.      To promote national uniformity of food safety laws and regulations, and the appropriate incorporation into CURFFL of national food safety standards.

The CRFSC is an informal, voluntary coalition of various groups and entities – as opposed to individuals – which was created to serve as a forum for all interested parties involved in or with the retail food service in the State of California.  The participants in the CRFSC process have made the conscious decision to have the organization itself remain informal in nature, and for that reason, the organization is not a corporation, limited liability partnership, or other type of formal business entity.

CRFSC has three main constituency groups: (1) the retail food service industry, (2) local environmental health officials responsible for the enforcement of CURFFL, and (3) the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Health Services. It is also important to note that the CRFSC has been very fortunate to have had available to it throughout its existence the expert advisory resources of the U. S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).  The FDA’s support and expertise have been vital to the success of the CRFSC.

The CRFSC prides itself on being a fully open and inclusive body which provides a forum in which, and a process by which, retail food safety issues can be considered, analyzed, debated, and voted upon in a fair and non-adversarial environment. To that end, every constituency which enforces CURFFL (i.e., DHS and local environmental health professionals), which regulates pursuant to CURFFL (i.e., DHS), or which is regulated by CURFFL (i.e., retail food service businesses) is welcome as a voting member of the CRFSC. Additionally, individual persons or entities which are part of one of the core constituencies mentioned in the preceding sentence are welcome as voting members at CRFSC meetings. Thus, for example, not only is CCDEH itself a voting member of the CRFSC, but individual local environmental health professionals can attend and vote at CRFSC meetings; similarly, not only is the California Restaurant Association a voting member of the CRFSC, but individual retail food service businesses can attend and vote at CRFSC meetings. 

In order to deal effectively with the many ideas and issues which have come before it, the CRFSC established over time four working "subcommittees." Subcommittee A deals primarily with definitions and people; Subcommittee B deals primarily with things (e.g., equipment, utensils, and the physical characteristics of food facilities); and Subcommittee C deals primarily with food-safety science issues.  Other subcommittees are established from time to time to address specific issues. Each of the subcommittees meets as frequently as needed given the number and nature of the issues which have been referred to it. The subcommittees then make recommendations to the entire CRFSC for its consideration and possible action.

Any person or entity which has an issue, or wants to propose a legislative change, related to retail food service is encouraged to bring the matter to the CRFSC.  Generally, this is done by submitting an “issue submission form,” which sets forth the specifics of the problem in question and the proposed manner in which to deal with it.  The entire CRFSC considers each issue submission form which it receives and decides to which subcommittee(s) the issue should be referred for analysis and recommendations.  If a subcommittee decides to propose specific action on an issue, such as the introduction of legislation, it refers the matter back to the entire CRFSC for its action.

Except as described below, all CRFSC members are entitled to vote on all matters which come before the full CRFSC, and decisions are made by majority vote of the CRFSC members present at a meeting. 

There is one vital exception to the “everyone has a vote” rule mentioned above.  One of the most important factors which has resulted in the success of the CRFSC is the right of each of the core constituency groups to cast a veto in connection with any vote regarding the proffering of a CRFSC-sponsored legislative bill or regulation.  This is just like the Security Council at the United Nations.  Therefore, each of the core constituency groups can feel secure in the knowledge that its interests cannot be trampled by a simple majority of those individuals who happen to be present at any given CRFSC meeting. For purposes of this critical veto function within the CRFSC, there are, again, three core constituencies: (i) the retail food service industry, (ii) local food safety enforcement agencies and personnel (i.e., environmental health professionals), and (iii) California state retail food safety and health professionals.

The right to veto a CRFSC legislative or regulatory proposal is implemented in the following manner: 

1.         Retail Food Service Industry

(A)  The California retail food service industry is very diverse and ever changing. It obviously includes restaurants of all types, food retailers (e.g., supermarkets, grocery stores, chain drugstores, and other markets), lodging establishments of all types (e.g., hotels, bed and breakfast inns, timeshares, guest ranches), certified farmers markets, county fairs, nonprofit fund-raising activities, “carts” and similar mobile devices (e.g., coffee and taco carts), food service operations in schools, hospitals, assisted-care facilities, adult-care facilities, and child-care facilities, and nonprofit and for-profit elderly nutrition programs (e.g., “Meals on Wheels”). 

The CRFSC works to insure that each segment of the retail food service industry is adequately represented on the CRFSC and has a vote, as appropriate to the nature and extent of its particular interests. 

(B)  The CRFSC's participants recognized from the outset that there exist far too many organizations, such as trade and professional associations, retail business enterprises, and individual interests which are involved in some manner or other in retail food safety issues to permit everyone to have a voting "seat at the table" and still be able to operate in an effective and efficient manner. It was decided for this reason that where there is a recognized organization that (i) represents the interests of an identifiable segment of the retail food service industry, and (ii) has its own internal decision-making process which enables it to take a public policy position regarding a retail food safety issue that will represent that segment's position, that organization would be recognized as the entity entitled to cast a vote within the CRFSC on behalf of that industry segment.[1]  To date, the following trade groups have been recognized as voting members for their respective retail food-service industry constituencies:

Lodging Establishments - California Hotel & Lodging Association

Restaurants - California Restaurant Association

Food retailers (e. g., supermarkets,grocery stores, chain drugstores, convenience stores, and other markets) - California Retailers Association and California Grocers Association

Temporary and Mobile Food Operations and Facilities - Western Association of Fairs and Orange County Cart Association

Certified Farmers Markets - CA Fed. Of Certified Farmers Markets and Southland Farmers Market Association

The CRFSC has developed operating policies which spell out how entities are selected to represent retail food service segments. 

2.     Local Environmental Health Professionals

The interests of local environmental health agencies and environmental health professionals, and their vote, are represented on the CRFSC by the California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health (CCDEH).

3.                California State Retail Food Safety and Health Professionals

The interests of California state environmental/food service health professionals, and their vote, are represented on the CRFSC by the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Health Services (DHS). As a state agency, DHS is typically forbidden from taking a formal position on issues involving potential legislation or matters of public policy unless and until specifically authorized to do so by the governor's office. In such situations, DHS serves solely as an advisory entity to provide the CRFSC with its best thinking on appropriate ways to enhance the level of retail food safety in California. 

In order to achieve the greatest possible degree of input, all interested parties are welcome to attend CRFSC meetings and subcommittee meetings. Any interested party can submit an issue for consideration. All those who participate in subcommittee meetings are entitled to vote at those meetings.

This is due in large part to the fact that all of the participants in the process have always honored fully the underlying precept that there is a great deal of common interest among the different constituency groups (retail food service industry, local environmental health officials, and DHS), and that it is possible to work cooperatively on those items on which all parties concur and acknowledge that there will continue to be disagreement on other issues. As a result of this basic operating philosophy, the CRFSC has each year introduced consensus legislation which in every case was enacted.[1]^/

In some years, the CRFSC's legislative package was relatively modest in the sense that it did not contain significant substantive changes. In other years, however, the CRFSC legislation set forth a consensus policy involving changes that reflected major positive shifts in public policy. For example, in 1999, the CRFSC legislation including a requirement that each food facility have its own certified individual to be responsible for the facility's compliance with good food safety practices.

An additional benefit resulting from the formation of the CRFSC has been the fact that it serves as a body before which questions or disputes regarding the manner in which CURFFL should be enforced can be presented and aired. A considerable number of conflicts which historically would have continued to cause problems and resulted in major controversies locally or at the statewide level have been considered and addressed in a manner that was acceptable to the interested parties. In some cases, the issue in question was resolved by means of an agreed-upon legislative change, while in other cases the problem was addressed in a less formal manner. For example, the CCDEH has developed and implemented an "Issues Resolution Process" by which questions and disputes concerning the proper interpretation of specific CURFFL provisions can be discussed and addressed in a non-adversarial procedure.

Furthermore, the existence of the CRFSC over the past decade years has been a key factor in the undertaking by CCDEH and DHS to develop standardized procedures for the conducting of inspections of food facilities. For example, this work resulted in the enactment of Senate Bill 180 in 2000, which provides for a uniform inspection and reporting mechanism.

The number of people interested in the CRFSC and wishing to participate in its activities has grown over time. This is due primarily to the fact that the CRFSC provides an open, inclusive forum in which issues can be aired and debated within an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation, without confrontation or judgment. This operating ethos is the reason that the coalition has been so successful in accomplishing its objectives.