Marine Corps COOL Snapshot - Certified Professional

Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS)

Renewal Period: 2 years

The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS) credential is for professionals whose primary responsibility is the protection and safety of food. The CP-FS, who is employed in any retail food environment, can be a quality control or assurance manager, facility manager, food-safe chemical supplier, or regulatory inspector/investigator. Candidates must demonstrate the ability to conduct facility plan reviews, assess hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plans or other risk-based food safety programs, examine and practice sanitation standard operating procedures for safety and efficacy, and know about causes and prevention of foodborne illnesses. Candidates must pass a written exam.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS)

The following Marine Corps Enlisted MOSs provide training and/or experience that contributes to attaining this credential:

	Enlisted Occupation	Occupation Type	Related As	COOL$
	3381 Food Service Specialist	MOS	Some	COOL Bucks

The following civilian occupations are related to this credential:

	Civilian Job	Job Family	Bright Outlook	Registered Apprenticeship	Local Salary Info
	First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers	Food Preparation and Serving Related	Bright Outlook		find local salary
	Food Service Managers	Management		Apprenticeship	find local salary

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Attainability:

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

Credential Prerequisite: Certified Professional Food Manager (CPFM), Food Safety Managers Certification Examination (FSMCE), SuperSafe Mark Exam, or ServSafe exam
Experience: 5 years
Education: High School Diploma/GED
Training
Membership
Other
Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for a Service member to meet eligibility requirements. Requirements listed here are based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

Exam
Written Exam
Oral Exam
Practical Exam
Performance Assessment

Exam Administration (View Details)

In-person exam
Remote proctored on-line exam
Third-party test vendor

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 2 years

Continuing Education
Exam
Continuing Education OR Exam
Fee
Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)

720 South Colorado Blvd.
Suite 1000-N
Denver, CO 80246-1925

Phone: (303) 756-9090

Fax: (303) 691-9490
Email: credentialing@neha.org

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Education/Training and/or Experience REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for the CP-FS credential exam, a candidate must meet the criteria for one of the following:

Track 1:

Degree Track

A bachelor’s degree in environmental health from a degree program accredited by the National Environmental Health Science & Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC). The list of EHAC accredited programs is available on their website: EHAC Undergraduate Accredited Programs; or
A bachelor’s degree with at least two years of experience in food protection; or
A bachelor’s degree and possession of the NEHA REHS/RS credential

Track 2:

Experience Track

Associate’s degree and four years of experience, and successful passage of the CPFM, FSMCE, or ServSafe exam, or
High School Diploma and five years of experience, and successful passage of the CPFM, FSMCE, or ServSafe exam

Track 3:

"In-Training" Status

If a candidate is applying under the degree track and does not yet have the required work experience, he or she may apply for an "In-Training" Status registration. Candidate will have three years to acquire the needed experience to transfer to a full-credential status, or the status will expire.

Other REQUIREMENTS

The Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS) credential has the following other requirements:

Candidate must abide by the NEHA Code of Ethics.

Written Exam

Developing Food Safety Policies, Procedures, and Training (20%)
- Identify the five risk factors
- Identify potential areas for contamination
- Identify food pathogen attributes
- Develop good manufacturing practices (GMPs)
- Develop allergen control procedures
- Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- Develop standard sanitary operating procedures (SSOPs)
- Develop specific food preparation policies and procedures
- Develop an integrated pest management (IPM) plan
- Develop employee hygiene practices and policies
- Develop good retail practices (GRPs)
- Identify root cause of adverse food safety conditions
- Develop sample collection, testing, and evaluation procedures
- Develop emergency policies and procedures
- Establish a training plan
- Ensure compliance with state and local training requirements
- Develop HACCP plans
- Administer employee training
Assessing Food Safety (33.33%)
- Assemble inspection equipment
- Calibrate food safety equipment
- Schedule the inspection
- Evaluate HACCP programs
- Review compliance history
- Conduct a menu review
- Determine food sources
- Assess time and temperature controls
- Evaluate employee behaviors
- Evaluate HACCP plans
- Evaluate storage practices
- Assess cross-contamination of foods
- Evaluate waste management practices
- Evaluate chemical handling practices
- Evaluate cleaning and sanitizing practices
- Evaluate controls of special foods
- Evaluate storage areas
- Analyze food preparation activities
- Assess food equipment
- Review administrative documentation
- Assess plumbing hazards
- Assess risk factors
- Document assessment findings
- Assess pest control practices
- Assess employee hygiene practices
- Evaluate the need and frequency of food safety assessments
- Manage the flow of foods
- Interpret test results
- Analyze food safety inspection findings
- Draft required responses for violations
- Develop a corrective action plan
- Verify the operator's knowledge of a risk control plan
- Review whether or not a risk control plan is being used
- Educate food service staff
- Communicate post-inspection findings to the person in charge
Reviewing Establishment Plans (10%)
- Research local laws and regulations
- Apply for licenses, permits, and variances
- Compare menus to site conditions
- Review external site plans
- Evaluate food/product flow
- Evaluate hazards in food/product flow
- Evaluate plumbing, electrical, and mechanical infrastructure
- Determine hot water demands
- Assess ware washing needs
- Evaluate food storage needs
- Evaluate restroom needs
- Evaluate sewage disposal system
- Evaluate facility lighting
- Evaluate the facility walls, floors, and ceilings
- Evaluate potable water sources
- Evaluate transport equipment
- Evaluate handwashing needs
- Review finish schedule
- Review employee training
- Review HACCP plans
- Verify physical build is according to plans
- Verify equipment certifications
- Verify compliance with local, state, or federal laws and regulations
- Verify establishment licenses and permits
Investigating Foodborne Illness (15%)
- Determine legitimacy of foodborne illness
- Communicate with appropriate agencies regarding the investigation process
- Communicate with internal and external stakeholders regarding the investigation process
- Interview cases of foodborne illness
- Establish 72 hour food history
- Collect case samples
- Conduct suspected facility investigations
- Evaluate food preparation practices
- Identify employee impacts on a case
- Hold food for disposition
- Collect food samples
- Collect facility samples
- Initiate a trace back
- Manage internal and external crisis communications
- Abate existing violations
- Write foodborne illness reports
- Coordinate incident recovery processes
Performing Recall Activities (6.67%)
- Train staff on recall activities
- Conduct mock recalls
- Submit regulatory information
- Determine implicated products
- Determine effected lot numbers
- Secure distribution lists
- Communicate recall information to stakeholders
- Prevent future sales of recalled products
- Verify effected products were removed
- Execute disposition of affected products
- Manage consumer inquiries regarding recall
Managing Food Defense Practices (6.67%)
- Conduct food defense vulnerability assessments
- Identify food defense hazards
- Develop a food defense plan
- Establish food defense enforcement protocols
- Implement corrective action plans
- Collaborate with federal, state, and local regulatory agencies
- Train employees on food defense plans
- Conduct food defense drills
- Identify a suspect food defense event
- Communicate critical information to internal and external stakeholders
- Perform post event analysis
Responding to Emergencies (8.33%)
- Determine parameters for ceasing operations
- Coordinate the emergency response team
- Identify risks associated with the emergency
- Identify emerging risks associated with the event
- Segregate contaminated foods
- Contact regulatory agencies regarding emergencies
- Communicate emergency information to stakeholders
- Activate the recovery plan
- Assess infrastructure for capacity to operate
- Evaluate a facility's ability to reopen
- Verify compliance with emergency response plans

Exam Preparation Resources

There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS) examination:

Best Sources

General References
- Code of Ethics For NEHA Credentialed Professionals

An additional resource is O'Reilly Learning Safari Books Online, a searchable digital library that provides online access to thousands of books, training videos and conference sessions. See the Educational Resources section on the Related Sites page here on COOL to learn how to get free access.

Testing Information

Exam Administration
Credential exams may be administered in-person at a testing site, proctored on-line remotely, or have options for both. If an exam is administered through a test vendor, the third-party test vendor box will be checked. The following test administration options apply to the Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS) credential where checked:
- In-person exam
- Remote proctored on-line exam
- Third-party test vendor

For more information on the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) testing process, visit the agency website.

Third-Party Test Vendor Information
Testing for this credential is handled by the following vendor:

Pearson VUE

The test centers are located in the U.S. They also have some test centers on military bases.

To find out more, use the following links on the Pearson VUE website:

RECERTIFICATION

Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS)

Renewal Period: 2 years

The Certified Professional - Food Safety (CP-FS) credential has the following recertification information:

To remain certified, certification holders must earn and submit a minimum of 24 hours of continuing education credits every two years.

Note: Marine Corps COOL will only pay recertification fees for the current year, no arrears will be paid. Voucher requests for recertification fees must be submitted with proof of the current status of the certification (for example, a screen shot of your credentialing agency dashboard or a copy of a current fee receipt).