FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 11, 2024 9:00 a.m.

Media Contact:

Chris Newbrough, PIO/Emergency Planner

573-581-1332

cnewbrough@audraincountyhealth.org

Audrain County Health Department Environmental Health Specialist II Sarah Palmer has been named to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Food Code Review Committee.

            “To have an ACHD employee sitting on a committee that will help guide state officials on a revamping of the state food code is quite a feather in our cap,” said ACHD Administrator and CEO Craig Brace. “For 11 years now, Sarah has been on the forefront of food safety in Audrain County and now, she gets to share her extensive knowledge on a state level.”

            The Food Code Review Committee will start meeting this month and will start reviewing the various chapters of the proposed new Missouri Food Code over a series of seven meetings through the end of March.

            “I’m very honored to have been named to this committee and hope to lend my expertise to the crafting of a food code that addresses issues that have been identified on a local level that may affect everyone in the state,” said Palmer. “Food safety is something I take very serious as it affects every single resident in Audrain County and, we can’t afford to have a statewide food code that doesn’t address those issues important to residents of Audrain County.”

             The recommendations emanating from these meetings will then be incorporated into a draft food code that will set out for public comment. Once the public comment period ends, it will undergo a rigorous internal review before being presented to the Missouri Health Board and the governor’s office asking that it be made into a new, state-wide rule. This process could take up to 18 months to complete, with Palmer’s statewide committee being an integral part of the process.

            “We look forward to having Sarah participate in this important code modification that affects not only Audrain County residents but their neighbors throughout the state of Missouri,” said Brace. “We’re confident Sarah’s experience and knowledge will allow her to contribute to the process in a very positive way.”

            “I look forward to the work the state has laid out for this committee,” said Palmer. “We all want a safe, healthy place to live and, that includes the food we eat and how it is regulated. It’s not going to be an easy process but, I’m confident we can make a difference in the providing of safe foods for Missourians to eat.”