SR10

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	10
TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002
STATE OF HAWAII

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SENATE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING ESTABLISHMENT OF A NON-ENFORCEMENT FOOD SAFETY CONSULTATIVE AND EDUCATION PROGRAM IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.

 

WHEREAS, a legislative initiative of the Fifteenth Legislature, Regular Session of 1989, provided funds for the "Voluntary Food handlers Education and Certification Project"; and

WHEREAS, Act 219, Session Laws of Hawaii 1992, established the Food Safety Consultative and Education Program in the Department of Health; and

WHEREAS, to date a separate non-enforcement Food Safety Consultative and Education Program has not been implemented in the Department, and the Food and Drug Branch and the Sanitation Branch within the Environmental Health Services Division are the food safety enforcement programs for the Department; and

WHEREAS, education and influence are the most effective and efficient tools available in the prevention and control of food borne diseases; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health has the experienced and knowledgeable staff for the prevention and control of food borne diseases; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature supports the use of this qualified staff to train Hawaii's food handlers in effective food safety concepts and practices for the prevention and control of food borne diseases; and

WHEREAS, quality assurance over the food safety certification process of Hawaii's critical food handlers is paramount; and

WHEREAS, the Food Safety Advisory Committee for the Department of Health is represented by Hawaii's restaurants, hotels, food industries, and institutions of higher education, as well as the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health's Epidemiology, Food and Drug, and Sanitation programs, and a food safety advocate; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that the Department of Health is requested to establish a Food Safety Consultative and Education Program; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department, with the assistance of the Food Safety Advisory Committee, shall consider the following in establishing a food handler certification process:

(1) Identification of Hawaii's actual food borne disease problems, by types of food establishments, types of foods implicated, causative agents, and the approximate numbers of people served at each establishment involved in any food borne disease outbreak from 1997 through 2001;

(2) Whether the resources currently available to the Department of Health are adequate to provide the necessary food safety education and consultative services;

(3) The number of food handlers certified annually since 1978 by the Department's food safety educators on each island;

(4) Evidence of the food safety educators' evaluations and accomplishments; and

(5) Records on the total number of food establishments on each island and the total amount of food establishment permit fees paid to the Department on each island;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the Food Safety Advisory Committee representing the institutions of higher education are requested to provide the Department with information on their food safety training resources and instructors available in the field of prevention and control of food borne diseases; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that food industry associations are requested to survey their members to evaluate food safety training and certification needs of the industry and to relay the information to the Department; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health shall report on its findings to the Legislature no later than November 15, 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health and the Chairperson of the Food Safety Advisory Committee.

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

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