The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is partnering with the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) to present upcoming Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards Self-Assessment and Verification Audit (SAVA) workshops. There will be two SAVA Workshops held as a pre-conference workshop at the 128th AFDO Annual Educational Conference and NEHA Annual Educational Conference:

• AFDO AEC pre-conference workshop: June 7–9, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Michigan
• NEHA AEC pre-conference workshop: July 13–15, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

SAVA workshops are designed to provide participants with an overview of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards criteria and an in-depth understanding of the self-assessment and verification audit processes, worksheets, and forms. The two-and-a-half-day workshops will enable participants to:

• Identify the requirements for each of the nine Retail Food Program Standards
• Explore various approaches to meeting the criteria within the Retail Food Program Standards
• Use the Retail Food Program Standards worksheets and forms to complete a verification audit of a jurisdiction’s self-assessment against the criteria contained in the standards
• Use the worksheets and forms to electronically compile and maintain results.

The Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Food Program Standards) serve as a guide to program managers in the design and management of regulatory retail food programs, provide a means of recognition for programs that meet the standards, and are designed to help programs enhance the services they provide to the public.