593: Authority Streamlines FDA Food Code Changes, Congress Works to Meet Spending Deadlines

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, February 2, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

DANIEL EDNEY: 

We're one of maybe two other states that have statutory ability to be able to reference any FDA Food Code changes directly into regulation.

JOHNSON: 

Mississippi State Health Officer and ASTHO member Dr. Daniel Edney says his legal ability to review FDA Food Code changes and implement them without seeking updates to state law makes the entire process better for restaurants and their customers.

EDNEY: 

A good example is when the evidence was pretty clear that the temperature of water was not the important factor and was just the time washing of hands. And so when the code changed, and we were able to just reference that, and implement the new regulations to take out the water temperature, that actually cut down a lot of time and expense to the large kitchens.

JOHNSON: 

Edney says every potential change is carefully reviewed before adopting the update.

EDNEY: 

And then we have a training period with the food preparation industry, providing technical assistance and answering questions. And then you add to it, we think there's been an appropriate period of education and preparation, then reference the code and convert that into the regulatory changes needed.

JOHNSON: 

And he knows his ability to make changes without new legislation is rare, but says every state should consider a streamlined approach.

EDNEY: 

This is something that's so helpful that it's worth spending a few years to accomplish.

JOHNSON: 

It appears Congress might have an answer for agencies waiting to hear if new federal spending deadlines will be met. ASTHO's Carolyn Mullen tells us more in this week's 'View from Washington, D.C.' report.

Carolyn Mullen, good to see you as always, how are you doing on this cold Friday morning?

CAROLYN MULLEN: 

Well, it's February. And it's really exciting because we only have four more weeks left until a budget deal needs to be struck.

JOHNSON: 

And we know that, we're watching those deadlines closely. ASTHO members have got to have their fingers crossed right now, hoping that something will get done. You say Congress is moving in the right direction.

MULLEN: 

That's correct. Last weekend, Congress developed what's known as 302 B allocations. And for those of us inside the beltway, we know what that is for, those outside probably don't. So, 302 B's are the allocation that's given to the various subcommittees and it's from there that the subcommittee's are going to make important funding decisions. According to media reports, it appears that the FDA and agricultural appropriation bills receiving a slight bump from last year. But unfortunately, the LHHS bill appears to be getting a slight decrease. These 302 B's are held under lock and key. So, we don't have a chart to really compare. So, we're just going by media reports. So, some good news and potentially some bad news in these allocations.

JOHNSON: 

And as always, nothing is done until it's done in Washington, I suppose this could get derailed.

MULLEN: 

It's very possible that everything could get derailed. We've seen a lot of uncertainty this year, certainly with the oscillation from: CR, are we going to shut down? CR, are we going to shut down? But what could really derail these efforts is policy riders. Historically, Congress doesn't like to include a lot of policy riders on funding bills. But there seems to be a movement to want to include some riders in these bills, which could really tank the entire effort. We've heard rumors that the leadership of both the House and Senate is holding strong and saying you know what, look, we'd like to prefer to not have policy riders. But we're in an election year and just everything's on the table and lots of uncertainty as we go through the next couple of weeks.

JOHNSON: 

Speaking of timing, is there anything about all of this right now that favors ASTHO members?

MULLEN: 

The really fortuitous event is we're having our Hill Day on February 28. Funding expires for LHHS on March 8, so on February 28, Congress is going to be going through some final negotiation. So, if there's something bad in the bill or something we don't like in the bill, it's actually the best time for us to be on Capitol Hill to really negotiate the final deal. So, it happened to just be perfect timing. Originally, the House was supposed to be in recess, and now they're actually going to be in session. So, I'm really excited about the opportunity for our members to be up on the Hill on February 28, and telling their story and why public health infrastructure and other programs are so important to public health jurisdictions throughout the country.

JOHNSON: 

It never hurts to deliver those messages in person does it?

MULLEN: 

No, it's definitely the best way to get information across, especially as Congress is making these important decisions.

JOHNSON: 

Carolyn Mullen, thank you for joining us here on Friday morning. We look forward to hearing more from you in future reports.

MULLEN: 

Sounds great. Thanks so much.

JOHNSON: 

Also, today, agencies looking for a framework to better promote wellness among members of their teams might find one in a new ASTHO blog article now online. You can review six different frameworks by clicking the link in the show notes.

Finally, this morning, health equity is the focus of a National Convening planned later this month online. ASTHO, the CDC Foundation, and the Michigan Public Health Institute will host the event. It'll cover community engagement, relationship-building, and how to work better with marginalized communities. This is the first of several planned quarterly discussions. It happens on Wednesday, February 21, at 4 p.m. ET. Sign up using the link in the show notes.

Before we go, a reminder also to follow this newscast on your podcast player so you don't miss a single report and connect with ASTHO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. That'll do it for today. We're back Monday morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great weekend.