AFDO Released State Food Safety Resource Survey Last Month

YORK, Pa. — The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) released its 2021 State Food Safety Resource Survey earlier this month. The survey looked at inspection work completed by state food safety regulatory programs charged with ensuring the safety of the food supply in the areas of manufactured food, retail food, milk, produce, meat/poultry and shellfish. The survey looked at work completed during calendar year 2019 rather than 2020 due to disruptions that may have occurred due to COVID-19.

"State food safety programs provide a critical service for the public by ensuring the safety of the foods consumers eat," said Natalie Adan, AFDO president. "Regulators are continually working with the industry to control factors that may lead to food contamination or foodborne illness. This survey illustrates the need these resources address."

The survey further shows that while FDA performs 3,500 human food inspections annually along with another 4,000 completed under contract by states, the states themselves are completing more than 41,000 additional inspections in these food manufacturing facilities, far more frequently than federal oversight.

“The extensive work accomplished by states in manufactured food highlights how key these state programs are to regulatory oversight in these facilities. Absent this oversight, many more food emergencies — outbreaks and recalls would result,” said Steven Mandernach, executive director of AFDO.