The Crumbine Award is a prestigious national award given annually to local environmental health jurisdictions who demonstrate excellence and continual improvement in a comprehensive food protection program. The purpose of the award is to encourage improvement and stimulate public interest in foodservice sanitation. The award is named in honor of Dr. Samuel J. Crumbine (1862 - 1954), a sanitarian-physician and public health pioneer who was renowned for his innovative methods of improving public health protection. The Award was established in his honor in 1954 and was first awarded in 1955. Since 1955, the Samuel J. Crumbine Consumer Protection Award has been presented annually to one local governmental health unit that has demonstrated unsurpassed achievement in providing outstanding food protection services to its community. The Award, which recognizes the importance of food protection at the local level, is held in high esteem by the public health community.
Who is Eligible?
Only local environmental health jurisdictions with the responsibility for food protection in the United States and Canada are eligible to apply for the Award. These are understood to be agencies or departments, which have the legal responsibility to protect the health of consumers in a county, district, city, town, township, etc. in the United States and Canada. State, provincial, institutional, industry, and private programs are not eligible. Past Award winners may apply five years after winning the Award.
Who is the Jury?
The Crumbine Award Jury is an independent panel of food protection practitioners who are qualified by education and experience to discern excellence in a program of food and beverage sanitation. They include representatives of leading public health and environmental health associations, past Crumbine Award winners, knowledgeable consumer advocates and food industry representatives.
Award Presentations
The Award consists of a bronze medal and engraved plate mounted on a plaque presented to the winning department. Presentations of engraved medallions are also made to key individuals on the winning staff, including the health officer, the immediate supervisor of the food program and the chief sanitarian. The presentations are made at the national meetings of the International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA).
Who are the Sponsors?
The Award is sponsored by the Conference for Food Protection, in cooperation with:
AmericanAcademy of Sanitarians
American Public Health Association
Association of Food and Drug Officials
Foodservice & Packaging Institute, Inc.
International Association for Food Protection
International Food Safety Council
National Association of County & City Health Officials
National Environmental Health Association
NSF International
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
