The CRFSC is an informal, voluntary coalition of various groups and entities – as opposed to individuals – which was created to serve as a forum for all interested parties involved in or with the retail food service in the State of California. The participants in the CRFSC process have made the conscious decision to have the organization itself remain informal in nature, and for that reason, the organization is not a corporation, limited liability partnership, or other type of formal business entity.
CRFSC has three main constituency groups: (1) the retail food service industry, (2) local environmental health officials responsible for the enforcement of CalCode, and (3) the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Health Services. It is also important to note that the CRFSC has been very fortunate to have had available to it throughout its existence the expert advisory resources of the U. S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA’s support and expertise have been vital to the success of the CRFSC.
The CRFSC prides itself on being a fully open and inclusive body which provides a forum in which, and a process by which, retail food safety issues can be considered, analyzed, debated, and voted upon in a fair and non-adversarial environment. To that end, every constituency which enforces CalCode (i.e., CDPH and local environmental health professionals), which regulates pursuant to CalCode (i.e., CDPH), or which is regulated by CalCode (i.e., retail food service businesses) is welcome as a voting member of the CRFSC. Additionally, individual persons or entities which are part of one of the core constituencies mentioned in the preceding sentence are welcome as voting members at CRFSC meetings. Thus, for example, not only is CCDEH itself a voting member of the CRFSC, but individual local environmental health professionals can attend and vote at CRFSC meetings; similarly, not only is the California Restaurant Association a voting member of the CRFSC, but individual retail food service businesses can attend and vote at CRFSC meetings.
In addition, all meetings of the CRFSC and of its various subcommittees are open to all interested parties.
