Program Profile
Regulatory Mission
The mission of the Division of Food Protection is to protect the public by preventing foodborne illness. The Division has developed and adopted uniform regulations for food service operations throughout the state and has promoted the development and maintenance of food protection programs.
Services
The Division of Food Protection through technical and administrative duties supports effective food protection programs in the regional public health offices. Additional responsibilities of the division include:
- Regulation updates and appropriate interpretations.
- Update Interpretations Manual on Regulation 61-25.
- Providing technical assistance in foodborne illness investigations.
- Providing a central plan review section which provides review of plans and specifications on new and remodeled food service and retail food stores to be constructed in South Carolina.
- Providing training to food inspectors as well as managers and employees of food service establishments and retail food stores.
- Providing formal standardization training to all regional health office food supervisors and selected regional health office personnel.
- Provide regional health office evaluations (survey audits) focusing on both administrative and field evaluations.
Statutory Authority
- Regulation 61-25 - Retail Food Service Establishments
- Regulation 61-28 - Rules and Regulations Governing Horse Meat and Kangaroo Meat
- Regulation 61-54 - Rules and Regulations Relating to the Manufacture, Processing, Storage and Transportation of Ice for Human Consumption
Program Standards
Annual surveys are conducted in each of the regional public health offices by Division of Food Protection FDA Certified Survey Officers to evaluate field and administrative procedures of the regional health office food protection programs.
Staffing
There are approximately 73 full time region / county Environmental Health staff professionals in the state having Food Protection as a primary duty. Approximately another 30 Environmental Health staff professionals have partial food protection duties.
Related Organizations
Other agencies with which the Division interacts include the SC Department of Agriculture, the SC Meat and Poultry Inspection Service, the US Department of Agriculture, the US Food and Drug Administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and state food protection programs throughout the nation.
Funding
The Division of Food Protection is funded thorough state appropriations and earned funds (fees).
Target Groups
The food protection program is targeted towards food safety and the health of the citizens in the State of South Carolina and guests to our state.
Major Program Concerns
Foodborne diseases and illnesses continue to be a major public health concern. As the food service industry continues to grow in size and diversity, Environmental Health staffing has not increased, which challenges our ability to ensure the safeness of foods provided to the consumer.
Program Focus
The Division of Food Protection is involved with all aspects of food protection in South Carolina. Food protection itself involves two major functions: inspection and support services. There are over 16,664 retail food establishments in South Carolina permitted (and the numbers are growing), requiring inspections and support services.
Inspectors with Environmental Health provide inspection and support services through the state’s 8 Regions and 46 county health departments.
In addition the division oversees the regulation of temporary food service operations, such as fairs and carnivals, and food service at special events, such as festivals and community celebrations.
Focus on Prevention
The purpose of the inspection and support activities conducted by the Division of Food Protection is the prevention of foodborne disease and illness and the accompanying distress and misery.
Regulatory inspections of retail food establishments are conducted to determine the sanitary condition of each permitted establishment and to assure that proper food handling practices are utilized. Clean facilities and proper food handling practices substantially reduce the likelihood of foodborne disease outbreaks.
Over 74,000 inspections are conducted annually in retail food service establishments. State regulations governing retail food establishments require that each permitted facility be inspected at least once per year. The state average routine inspection rate is between two and three per year. This rate does not include complaint and follow-up inspections and training visits.
Without the inspection activities conducted throughout the state, the number and severity of foodborne outbreaks could be expected to be high.
Focus on Service
Unannounced inspections are the backbone of the food protection program in South Carolina. Environmental Health personnel in each of the state’s 46 counties, perform regular (or routine) inspections, follow-up inspections, and complaint inspections every day. The food inspection personnel are state inspectors located within the county health departments throughout the state The retail food establishment regulation therefore is the same from county to county throughout the state.
Grades (A, B, or C) are posted in each permitted facility after each inspection and reflect the sanitation level of that facility at the time of inspection.
Support services are offered both through the central office Division of Food Protection and at the local level, and are intended to support the inspection personnel, the food industry, and the public.
Support services offered by the division include training for industry and Environmental Health personnel, plan review of new and remodeled establishments, standardization of inspection personnel statewide, investigation of foodborne illnesses, and surveys of each regions food protection program.
Similar support services are available through South Carolina’s region and county Environmental Health offices.
Focus on Effectiveness
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that foodborne disease causes 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,200 deaths each year in the United States.
The costs associated with just one foodborne illness related organism (Salmonella bacteria) has been estimated to be more than $1 billion a year due to medical costs and lost wages.
Foodborne illnesses in South Carolina also prove costly, but the cost to the state goes far beyond the most obvious health care costs. Other costs include lost productivity of employees, lost business for the food service industry, legal costs, and the loss of quality of life factors that make the state attractive to industry and tourism.
As the state’s citizens and tourists dine in South Carolina, they expect a safe food supply, and spend millions of dollars in the state’s retail food establishments. The repercussions of foodborne disease outbreaks could prove disastrous to South Carolina and its economy. Without the food protection program in South Carolina, the likelihood of those foodborne disease outbreaks would increase significantly.