Government Agencies Responsible for Food Safety

The large multi-state outbreaks of illness caused by E. coli and other bacteria point to gaps in food safety and the need to evaluate handling practices as food moves from the farm to the table.

A number of federal, state and local government agencies have important roles in monitoring the safety of the food supply and preventing outbreaks of disease.

At the federal level, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Marine Fisheries Service regulate food production and distribution. Government agencies set food safety standards and conduct inspections to ensure that the standards are met.

Today, cattle, pork and poultry are often produced in high volume at industrialized farms and shipped to market hundreds of miles from where they are raised. Inspectors with the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service make sure that meat and poultry products sold in interstate commerce, including imported products, are safe and properly labeled and packaged. Similarly, the National Marine Fisheries Service Seafood Inspection program provides inspections and sanitation evaluations for seafood processors.

The USDA requires that each meat and poultry producer have written sanitation operating procedures to minimize the number of microbes on meat and poultry products. The USDA requires the regular testing for microbes to verify that a producer’s sanitation processes are preventing fecal contamination of meat and the bacteria associated with it. Meat that has been federally inspected is stamped with a round purple vegetable-dye mark.

Besides raw meat, poultry and egg products regulated by the USDA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is the federal agency responsible for overseeing the safety of all foods, including bottled water and dietary supplements. The FDA sets food safety standards and conducts inspections and monitoring to ensure standards are met. The agency takes enforcement action against companies that fail to comply.

The Food and Drug Administration provides a model Food Code that sets science-based guidance and enforceable provisions for minimizing the risk of foodborne illness. The Food Code is a model for state and local agencies.

More than 3,000 state and local programs are responsible for regulating more than 1 million restaurants and grocery stores, cafeterias and outlets in schools, health care facilities and prisons. Meanwhile, state programs inspect meat and poultry products sold within the state where they are produced.

Health officials in each state decide what diseases to monitor within the state and are often the first to detect outbreaks of foodborne illness. In most states, diagnosed cases of Salmonellosis, E. coli and other serious infections are reported to the health department. The county health department reports them to the state health department, which reports the information to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC provides scientific analysis of public health threats, including foodborne illnesses, and consults with state and local health departments. The CDC also sends emergency response teams to deal with large or unusual outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.

While most cases of foodborne illness are not part of outbreaks, health officials look for patterns of infections that suggest a larger outbreak of foodborne disease and that may point to a particular source, such as a catered meal, a restaurant with lax sanitation practices or a defective food product.

The food poisoning attorneys at Neblett, Beard & Arsenault promote food safety through legal advocacy and analysis of food poisoning outbreaks. We have helped people harmed by contaminated foods or beverages, including clients in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and across the country. With nearly three decades of experience, we have developed an understanding of the bacteria and scenarios that cause most serious foodborne illnesses, and we can use that experience to help you. Contact our foodborne illness lawyers by calling 1-800-256-1050 or use our online contact form.