Читать книгу Food Regulation - Neal D. Fortin - Страница 61

Allocation of resources is an additional reason state and local governments play a prominent role in food safety regulation in the United States. The combined food‐related budget of the above‐mentioned federal agencies amounts to only a small fraction of the total federal government budget. The combined total of state and local officials far outnumbers the federal food regulatory staff.

State and local governments employ food inspectors, sanitarians, microbiologists, epidemiologists, food scientists, and more. Their precise duties are dictated by state and local laws. Some of these officials monitor only one kind of food, such as milk or seafood. Many work within a specified geographical area, such as a county or a city. Others regulate only one type of food establishment, such as restaurants or meat‐packing plants.

State meat and poultry inspection programs must be assessed by the USDA FSIS to determine whether the state inspection programs are at least equal to the federal program. FSIS assumes responsibility for inspection in a state that chooses to end its inspection program or cannot maintain the equivalent standard.