Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards - November 2024

"Standards of Excellence for Continual Improvement"

Developed and recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with input from federal, state, and local Regulatory officials, Industry, trade associations, academia, and consumers.

OMB Control No. 0910-0621
Expiration Date: 10-31-2026
See additional PRA statement
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PDF - 100KB)

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Table of Contents

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Overview of the Retail Program Standards

• Introduction to the Standards (PDF: 213B)
• Program Standards Definitions (PDF: 182KB)

Information about Enrolling and Participating in the Retail Program Standards

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a statement clarifying that Verification Audits conducted as part of the 2019 version of the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS) may be conducted either virtually or on-site. A change will be made within the “Instructions for Completing the Program Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form” for each of the nine standards. The words “on-site visit” will be replaced with the words “Verification Audit”, which is a defined term within the VNRFRPS. This editorial change is being made by the FDA outside of the normal Conference for Food Protection (CFP) cycle. Additionally, language will be added to the section entitled “Verifying the Self-Assessment” section of the Administrative Procedures document for clarification purposes.

• Retail Program Standards Reference System
• Clearinghouse Work Group Questions and Answers for implemented 2022 standards (PDF: 760KB) April 2023
• Clearinghouse Fact Sheet (PDF: 557KB)
• Administrative Procedures (PDF: 1449KB)
• Retail Program Standards Timeline (PDF: 165KB)
• FDA National Registry Report (FDA Form 3958) (PDF: 1.19MB)
• Self Assessment/Audit Verification Summary and Gap Analysis Tool (XLS: 105KB)
  This  tool is a secondary means of collecting information associated with the VNRFRPS and the existing PDF versions are the official 508 compliant version of the worksheets.
• Retail Food Risk Factor Study Toolkit

Standard 1: Regulatory Foundation

• Standard 1 (PDF: 234KB)
• Standard 1 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 933KB)
• Standard 1 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet for Part I (PDF: 1.8MB)
• Standard 1 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet for Part II (PDF: 1.66MB)
• Standard 1 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet for Part III (PDF: 1.42MB)
• Standard 1 – Verification Audit Instructions and Worksheet for Part I (PDF: 71.45MB)
• Standard 1 – Verification Audit Instructions and Worksheet for Part II (PDF: 1.42B)
• Standard 1 – Verification Audit Instructions and Worksheet for Part III (PDF: 1.40B)

Standard 2: Trained Regulatory Staff

• Standard 2 (PDF: 281KB)
• Standard 2 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 1.39MB)
• Standard 2 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 1.40MB)
• Standard 2 – Verification Audit Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 1.38MB)
• Standard 2 – Appendix B-1: Curriculum for Retail Food Safety Inspection Officers (PDF: 170KB)
  • Note: ComplianceWire has been discontinued. All courses, except Emergency Management, can be found on the LearnED platform. Important: Search for courses using the specified Course Number (ex. CC8044W) and not by keyword. Emergency Management courses are available through FEMA.
• Standard 2 – Appendix B-2: CFP Field Training Manual (PDF: 235KB)
• Standard 2 – Appendix B-3: Establishment Categories (PDF: 198KB)

Standard 3: Inspection Program Based on HACCP Principles

• Standard 3 (PDF: 78KB)
• Standard 3 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 334KB)

Standard 4: Uniform Inspection Program

• Standard 4 (PDF: 67KB)
• Standard 4 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 765KB)
• Standard 4 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 1.4MB)
• Standard 4 – Verification Audit Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 197KB

Standard 5: Foodborne Illness and Food Defense Preparedness and Response

• Standard 5 (PDF: 109KB)
• Standard 5 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 972KB)

Standard 6: Compliance and Enforcement

• Standard 6 (PDF: 86KB)
• Standard 6 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 826KB)
• Standard 6 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 1.1MB)
• Standard 6 – Verification Audit Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 720KB)
• Standard 6 – Explanation of Statistical Model (PDF: 87KB)
• Standard 6 – Establishment File Summary (PDF: 614KB)
• Standard 6 – Quick Reference Applicable Food Code Risk Factor Provisions (PDF: 123KB)
• Standard 6 – Establishment File Worksheet Based on FDA Food Code Form 3-A (PDF: 185KB)

Standard 7: Industry and Community Relations

• Standard 7 (PDF: 98KB)
• Standard 7 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 814KB)
• Standard 7 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 137KB)

Standard 8: Program Support and Resources

• Standard 8 (PDF: 111KB)
• Standard 8 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 883KB)
• Standard 8 – Self-Assessment Instructions and Worksheet (PDF: 706KB)
• Standard 8 – Staffing Level (FTE to Inspection Ratio) Assessment Workbook Instruction Guide
• Standard 8 – Staffing Level (FTE to Inspection Ratio) Assessment Workbook

Standard 9: Program Assessment

• Standard 9 (PDF: 92KB)
• Standard 9 – Self-Assessment and Verification Audit Form (PDF: 214KB)

Other Important Documents

• Summary of Changes (PDF: 65KB)
• Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards Compiled (PDF: 2.07MB)