Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Oversees:

• All domestic and imported food sold in interstate commerce, including shell eggs, but not meat and poultry
• Bottled water
• Wine beverages with less than 7 percent alcohol

Food Safety Role: Enforces food safety laws governing domestic and imported food, except meat and poultry, by:

• Inspecting food production establishments and food warehouses and collecting and analyzing samples for physical, chemical and microbial contamination
• Reviewing safety of food and color additives before marketing
• Reviewing animal drugs for safety to animals that receive them and humans who eat food produced from the animals
• Monitoring safety of animal feeds used in food-producing animals
• Developing model codes and ordinances, guidelines and interpretations and working with states to implement them in regulating milk and shellfish and retail food establishments, such as restaurants and grocery stores. An example is the model Food Code, a reference for retail outlets and nursing homes and other institutions on how to prepare food to prevent food-borne illness.
• Establishing good food manufacturing practices and other production standards, such as plant sanitation, packaging requirements, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point programs
• Working with foreign governments to ensure safety of certain imported food products
• Requesting manufacturers to recall unsafe food products and monitoring those recalls
• Taking appropriate enforcement actions
• Conducting research on food safety
• Educating industry and consumers on safe food handling practices

For More Information:

Consumers:
FDA Headquarters
Office of Consumer Affairs
HFE-88
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Regional FDA offices, listed in the blue pages of the phone book under U.S. Government
Media inquiries: 202-205-4144
Consumers:
FDA's Food Information and Seafood Hotline
1-800-FDA-4010 (1-800-332-4010),
202-205-4314 in the Washington, D.C., area

Websites: FDA, Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, Center for Veterinary Medicine

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

Oversees:

• Domestic and imported meat and poultry and related products, such as meat- or poultry-containing stews, pizzas and frozen foods
• Processed egg products (generally liquid, frozen and dried pasteurized egg products)

Food Safety Role: Enforces food safety laws governing domestic and imported meat and poultry products by:

• Inspecting food animals for diseases before and after slaughter
• Inspecting meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants
• With USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, monitoring and inspecting processed egg products
• Collecting and analyzing samples of food products for microbial and chemical contaminants and infectious and toxic agents
• Establishing production standards for use of food additives and other ingredients in preparing and packaging meat and poultry products, plant sanitation, thermal processing, and other processes
• Making sure all foreign meat and poultry processing plants exporting to the United States meet U.S. standards
• Seeking voluntary recalls by meat and poultry processors of unsafe products
• Sponsoring research on meat and poultry safety
• Educating industry and consumers on safe food-handling practices

For More Information:

FSIS Food Safety Education and Communications Staff
Room 1175, South Building,
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Media inquiries: 202-720-9113
Consumers:
The Meat and Poultry Hotline, 1-800-535-4555
(In Washington, D.C., area, call 202-720-3333.)
TDD/TTY: 1-800-256-7072

Websites: USDA, FSIS

National Agricultural Library
USDA/FDA Foodborne Illness Education Information Center

Oversees: All foods

Food Safety Role:

• Maintains a database of computer software, audiovisuals, posters, games, teachers' guides and other educational materials on preventing food-borne illness
• Helps educators, food service trainers and consumers locate educational materials on preventing food-borne illness

For More Information:

USDA/FDA Foodborne Illness Education Information Center
Food and Nutrition Information Center
National Agricultural Library/USDA
Beltsville, MD 20705-2351
301-504-5719

Website: NAL

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Oversees: All foods

Food Safety Role:

• Investigates with local, state and other federal officials sources of food-borne disease outbreaks
• Maintains a nationwide system of food-borne disease surveillance: Designs and puts in place rapid, electronic systems for reporting food-borne infections. Works with other federal and state agencies to monitor rates of and trends in food-borne disease outbreaks. Develops state-of-the-art techniques for rapid identification of food-borne pathogens at the state and local levels.
• Develops and advocates public health policies to prevent food-borne diseases
• Conducts research to help prevent food-borne illness
• Trains local and state food safety personnel

*Also, HHS's National Institutes of Health conduct food safety research.

For More Information:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd., N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30333
Media inquiries: 404-639-3286
General public: 404-639-3311

Website: CDC

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

Oversees: All domestic foods, some imported

Food Safety Role: With U.S. colleges and universities, develops research and education programs on food safety for farmers and consumers

*Also, a number of other USDA agencies conduct food safety activities.

For More Information: Local cooperative extension services, listed in the blue pages of the phone book under county government

Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Washington, DC 20250-0900
202-720-3029

Website: REEUSDA

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Oversees: Drinking water

Food Safety Role: Foods made from plants, seafood, meat and poultry

• Establishes safe drinking water standards
• Regulates toxic substances and wastes to prevent their entry into the environment and food chain
• Assists states in monitoring quality of drinking water and finding ways to prevent contamination of drinking water
• Determines safety of new pesticides, sets tolerance levels for pesticide residues in foods, and publishes directions on safe use of pesticides

For More Information:

Environmental Protection Agency
401 M St., S.W.
Washington, DC 20460
202-260-2090
Regional EPA offices, listed in the blue pages of the phone book under U.S. Government

Website: EPA

U.S. Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Oversees: Fish and seafood products

Food Safety Role: Through its fee-for-service Seafood Inspection Program, inspects and certifies fishing vessels, seafood processing plants, and retail facilities for federal sanitation standards

For More Information:

Seafood Inspection Program
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
1-800-422-2750

Website: NMFS

U.S. Department of the Treasury
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

Oversees: Alcoholic beverages except wine beverages containing less than 7 percent alcohol

Food Safety Role:

• Enforces food safety laws governing production and distribution of alcoholic beverages
• Investigates cases of adulterated alcoholic products, sometimes with help from FDA

For More Information:

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Market Compliance Branch
650 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Room 5200
Washington, DC 20226
202-927-8130

Website: ATF

U.S. Customs Service

Oversees: Imported foods

Food Safety Role: Works with federal regulatory agencies to ensure that all goods entering and exiting the United States do so according to U.S. laws and regulations

For More Information:

U.S. Customs Service
P.O. Box 7407
Washington, DC 20044
Media inquiries: 202-927-1770
General public: Contact local ports of entry, listed in the blue pages of the phone book under U.S. Government, Customs Services

Website: Customs

U.S. Department of Justice

Oversees: All foods

Food Safety Role:

• Prosecutes companies and individuals suspected of violating food safety laws
• Through U.S. Marshals Service, seizes unsafe food products not yet in the marketplace, as ordered by courts

For More Information: U.S. attorneys' offices in blue pages of phone book under U.S. Government

Website: DOJ

Federal Trade Commission

Oversees: All foods

Food Safety Role: Enforces a variety of laws that protect consumers from unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices, including deceptive and unsubstantiated advertising.

For More Information:

FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
Consumer Response Center, CRC-240
Washington, DC 20580
Media inquiries: 202-326-2180
TDD: 202-326-2502
Consumers: 202-FTC-HELP
(202-382-4357)

Website: FTC