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Food and Drug Administration Provides Training to Navy Preventive Medicine Personnel
Story Number: NNS130425-07
4/25/2013
By Anthony Carotenuto, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center
PORTSMOUTH, Va (NNS) -- The Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit 2 (NEMPU2) hosted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Establishment Plan Review course April 16-18.
This course was arranged by the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMPCHC) in response to a recognized training gap for preventive medicine personnel.
Collaborating with public health colleagues at the FDA and working closely with Lt. Lucian Ionescu, NEPMU2 Environmental Health Officer and Jeffrey Bolden, NEMPU2 preventive medicine staff, NMCPHC was able to secure this critical training at no cost to Navy Medicine.
Twenty active duty and civilian preventive medicine personnel from the Hampton Roads area participated in the Food Establishment Plan Review course. The class offered new perspectives on how food facility plan reviews affect the delivery of safe food to our customers.
"This was very useful real world exercises and experiences," said Lt. j.g. Robert Miller, NMCPHC Environmental Health Officer (EHO). "I would recommend this class to all junior EHOs and senior Preventive Medicine Technicians. Class was professionally taught and conducted."
The course was developed to assist public health and industry personnel achieve a greater uniformity in food establishment plan review process.
According to Capt. Dexter Hardy, NMCPHC EHO, food facility plan reviews of food service establishments should be a high priority by all preventive medicine personnel for new, renovated and existing facilities.
The program educates participants in reading and interpreting facility diagrams specifications for equipment, lighting, electrical, ventilation, plumbing and mechanical systems.
"I recognized a need for this class because this is a topic that is not emphasized or taught in school," said Ionescu. "It greatly enhances what we already know about food safety inspections and increases our perspective." Participants were instructed on calculating storage areas, refrigeration temperature recovery times, hot water heater sizing and proper flow throughout a food facility.
A thorough plan review of Navy and Marine Corps dining facilities, Navy and Marine Corps Exchange food facilities, Morale, Welfare and Recreation sponsored food establishment and Navy ships galleys helps avoid both health and safety issues in the future.
Participants will be able to put into practice how the plan review process relates to the control of FDA food-borne illness risk factors during the initial plan review and afterwards during routine inspections.
The training also helps participants uncover potential issues in the initial paper planning stage in order to avoid costly modifications after the doors are opened. This has the potential of saving thousands of dollars and avoiding construction delays.
"I thought the class was good and educational. It creates a fresh aspect on facilities and how they function," said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (FMF) Rick Ware, NEPMU2 preventive medicine technician.
NMCPHC is working closely with Lt. Cmdr. Deirdra Scarborough, U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) and her training team from the FDA to establish future training opportunities for Navy preventive medicine staffs nation-wide.
NMCPHC is part of the Navy Medicine team, a global health care network of 63,000 Navy medical personnel around the world who provide high-quality health care to more than one million eligible beneficiaries. Navy Medicine personnel deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, providing critical mission support aboard ship, in the air, under the sea and on the battlefield.
For more news from Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, visit www.navy.mil/local/nmcphc/.