The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Food Code 2017 recognizes American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation under the Conference for Food Protection (CFP) Program, an affirmation of ANSI accreditation's positive impact on food safety.
As noted in the FDA's 2017 Food Code, "Governments and industry widely recognize and respect ANSI as an accrediting organization." ANSI implemented the ANSI-CFP accreditation program in 2002, when it entered into a cooperative agreement with the Conference for Food Protection to accredit organizations involved in the certification of food protection managers.
The FDA publishes the Food Code as a reference to assist food control jurisdictions at all levels of government by providing them with a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the industry, including restaurants, grocery stores, and institutions including nursing homes. Local, state, tribal, and federal regulators use the FDA Food Code as a model to develop or update their own food safety rules and to be consistent with national food regulatory policy.
"Studies by the CDC and FDA suggests that the presence of a certified manager has a correlation of certain risk factors, and supports the impact of ANSI accreditation on public health," said Vijay Krishna, Ed.D., Sr.director, personnel credentialing accreditation programs, at ANSI. The FDA actions in this initiative are supported by a recently-released 10-year study of more than 800 retail food establishments to determine compliance with five key risk factors in nine types of retail operations.
To read about accredited food protection manager certification programs and link to a directory of currently accredited programs, visit the ANSI webpage below:
To apply for accreditation under the Conference for Food Protection Standards, please visit and review ANSI's webpage:
About ANSI Accreditation
ANSI Accreditation provides assurance that standards, goods, and services meet essential requirements throughout the global supply chain - engendering consumer trust and fostering competitiveness. Increasingly, procurement authorities, government agencies, and program/scheme owners are specifying accreditation in order to demonstrate the technical competence and impartiality of conformance services and processes. These assessments enhance confidence between buyers and sellers as they mitigate risk.