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DOH outlines food safety priorities as board reviews retail food code and worker card
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Summary
State food safety staff briefed the Board of Health on retail food responsibilities, outbreak history, pressures from unpermitted vendors, shared kitchens, mobile operations and new technologies, and said the department will bring forward targeted rule and code updates (including the food worker card and FDA Food Code alignment) in the coming year.
Washington State Department of Health staff briefed the Board of Health on the retail food safety program and the policy work the agency will bring to the board over the next year.
Susan Shelton, program technical lead, summarized the department’s five core responsibilities: rules and guidance, training and technical support, outbreak and recall coordination, food‑safety program standards and inspections/permits. She reviewed notable outbreaks that shaped policy in Washington — including E. coli and beef, unpasteurized juice, hepatitis A in sandwiches, and salmonella recalls — and said those events have repeatedly driven code changes.
Shelton warned of current pressures that complicate oversight: an increase in unpermitted or itinerant food vendors, growth of shared or ‘‘ghost’’ kitchens, expansion of mobile and temporary food operations, new imported equipment and automation, and workforce turnover in both industry and public health. She said those trends expose gaps in the current code (WAC 246‑215) and in the State’s food worker card framework, which staff plan to revisit.
"Washington's food safety system and the code requirements adopted by the State Board of Health are built on a combination of scientific evidence, field experience, and lessons learned over time," Shelton told the board. Staff described planned work to review the next FDA Food Code update, update the food worker card and guidance on delivery and shared kitchen models, and to run an evidence‑and‑cost analysis of any proposed rule changes.
What happens next: DOH will return to the board with proposed updates to the food worker card, planned alignment with the 2026 FDA Food Code, proposals to address unpermitted vendors and shared‑kitchen issues and outreach on workforce and language access for diverse operators.
