In honor of World Food Safety Day, which takes place annually on June 7, the New York State Departments of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) and Health (DOH) on Saturday highlighted the State’s ongoing efforts to enhance food safety for all New Yorkers. AGM and DOH are at the forefront of food safety efforts in New York State with a wide network of food safety inspectors and dairy product specialists that inspect New York’s retail food establishments, food manufacturing plants, dairy processing facilities, and restaurants. The State additionally houses state-of-the-art laboratories committed to protecting and improving the health of New Yorkers through laboratory analysis, investigation, and research.
Beginning on World Food Safety Day, AGM will launch a special week-long social media campaign educating consumers about its work to protect New York State’s food supply. AGM is also launching a trivia contest to bust common food safety myths and help New Yorkers learn about keeping their food safe at home, with a chance for New Yorkers to win a special prize.
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “Each year as we recognize World Food Safety Day, we are proud to share with New Yorkers that the State has a strong team of inspectors and scientists working hard every day to keep New York’s food supply safe. From our daily work on farms, in retail food stores, and in food processing facilities, to our analyses in New York’s state-of-the-art Food Laboratory, the Department is committed to maintaining the safety and resiliency of our food systems and ensuring that consumers can sleep soundly knowing that we’re on the job.”
As part of the educational campaign, AGM is releasing a series of social media posts this week to showcase the work conducted by Department staff every day to ensure the State’s food supply is safe. This includes a post highlighting its Farm Products Unit, which provides optional third-party grading and certification services and third-party food safety verification audits to the fruit and vegetable industry throughout New York, so consumers know they are getting the highest quality products. Grading, certification, and auditing services include:
- Terminal market/receiving point inspections
- Shipping point inspections
- Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) & Good Handling Practices (GHP) audits
- Shell egg voluntary grading
- Quality control
- Inspection of various farm products purchased by government agencies, private companies, or institutions
The Farm Products Unit also carries out programs like the USDA Pesticide Data Program, New York State branding laws inspections, seed potato field inspections for seed certification, shell egg surveillance, Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), and controlled atmosphere apple storage licensing. Learn more.
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