The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now offers several resources to help state, local, territorial, and tribal jurisdictions complete a risk factor study as part of Standard 9 (Program Assessment) of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards.
Completion of a risk factor study and implementation of a focused public health intervention can decrease the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors and ensure food safety at retail. The newly available resources include: a risk factor study overview and guidance document, sample size statistics guide and calculator, food code reference crosswalk, study checklist, sample restaurant data collection form, sample retail food store data collection form, and marking instructions. FDA retail food specialists are also available to assist jurisdictions with study design, training, and data analysis, including workshops and FDA’s risk factor study database.