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 Crumbine 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 Crumbine 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:

How to Apply?

Information on applying for the 2011 Crumbine Award will be available in the future. The award is currently undergoing revision.

Winners of the Crumbine Award

Congratulations to Columbus [Ohio] Public Health, the winner of the 2009 Crumbine Award! Their award-winning application is available for download below, as are previous winning entries.

Past Winners List

Congratulations to all previous winners of the Crumbine Award:

2010 (Award not given)
2009 Columbus, OH
2008 Sacramento County, CA
2007 (Award not given)
2006 Multnomah County, OR
2005 San Diego County, CA
2004 Fort Worth, TX
2003 Santa Clara County, CA
2002 (Award not given)
2001 Maricopa County, AZ
2000 Olmsted County, MN
1999 Lake County, IL
1998 Clark County, NV
1997 Madison, WI
1996 Snohomish, WA
1995 (Award not given)
1994 DuPage County, IL
1993 Allegheny County, PA
1992 Boulder County, CO
1991 Tacoma-Pierce County, WA
1990 San Joaquin County, CA
1989 Albuquerque, NM
1988 San Bernardino County, CA
1987 Snohomish, WA
1986 Tri-County, CO
1985 Montgomery County, OH
1984 Southeastern District, ID
1983 Pima County, AZ
1982 Winnebago County, IL
1981 Nassau County, NY
1980 Allegheny County, PA
1979 Suffolk County, NY
1978 Arlington County, VA
1977 Los Angeles County, CA
1976 Region VI, Roswell, NM
1975 (Award not given)
1974 Lexington-Fayette County, KY
1967 Salt Lake City, UT *
1966 Imperial County, CA & Jefferson County, AL
1965 Spokane County, WA & Albuquerque, NM
1964 Orange County, CA
1963 Hamilton County, OH & Lake County, IL
1962 Rocky Mount, NC & Seattle-King County, WA
1961 Albuquerque, NM & Philadelphia, PA
1960 Marion County, IL & San Bernardino County, CA
1959 San Diego County, CA & Salt Lake City, UT
1958 Spokane, WA & Los Angeles, CA
1957 San Jose, CA & San Diego County, CA
1956 Tulsa City-County, OK & Macon-Bibb-Jones District, GA
1955 Cowlitz-Wahkiakum District, WA & New York City, NY *

*From 1955 - 1966 two awards were given: for general environmental health and for food protection. From 1968 through 1973, the award was suspended temporarily due to a general lack of innovation in food protection programs.

For additional information on the Crumbine Award, contact Lynn Dyer at the Foodservice Packaging Institute at (703) 538-3551 or by e-mail at ldyer@fpi.org.