![]() All food in “interstate commerce” - food produced in one state and sold in another state - must meet requirements of USDA and/or FDA. All of these things combine to make licensing and inspection of on-farm food processing complex. And training and education for food safety inspectors varies widely. A food safety inspector may be from the local board of health or the county health department or a regional district. There may be different inspectors for different food products and production processes. In other states, they work under the auspices of the department of public health. In some states, food safety inspectors work under the auspices of the department of agriculture. Each state is different, and in many states, each county or municipality may be different. In effect, this requires food processors to have working knowledge of federal regulations in order to understand and comply with state regulations.Īt the local level, the food safety system becomes particularly complex, with quite a bit of variation in authority, process, interpretation, and enforcement. Therefore, most states adopt federal regulations into state legal code "by reference," meaning they don't put the federal language word-for-word into state code, they simply refer to the federal law by name only as being incorporated into state law. Federal standards are set in large, complex pieces of legislation such as the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Pasteurized Milk Order, which may be amended or re-interpreted over the years. State standards may be more restrictive than federal standards, but not less restrictive. FSIS regulates eggs, but FDA regulates processed egg products.Īt the state level, each state has a department of agriculture and a department of public health, each of which must, according to federal law, adopt and enforce food safety regulations at least equal to federal standards. FSIS regulates animal slaughter facilities and grades meat, but FDA regulates products that contain meat as an added ingredient, such as sausage pizza and frozen dinners. FDA and FSIS have overlapping authority for making and enforcing food safety standards, which adds to the complexity and confusion in our food safety system. For example, FSIS regulates livestock and dairy farms, but FDA regulates milk pasteurization. Within the USDA is the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). ![]() In the same spirit, some states have “home rule” which means designated areas may act independently, and their regulations may be more restrictive than state regulations.Īt the federal level the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have jurisdiction, which means they have the authority to make and enforce regulations applicable to any state or territory. States may be more restrictive, but not less restrictive than federal regulations. In general, federal regulations supersede state regulations, and state regulations supersede local regulations. ![]() Jurisdiction over food safety regulations and licensing is divided among a few different government agencies. The government sets the standards for food safety and enforces them through the licensing process.
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