In honor of World Food Safety Day, which takes place annually on June 7, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (AGM) and Department of Health (DOH) this week are highlighting the State’s ongoing efforts to enhance food safety for all New Yorkers.

Beginning on World Food Safety Day, AGM launched a special week-long social media campaign educating consumers about its work to protect New York State’s food supply.

“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,” AGM said in a statement. “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.”

As part of the educational campaign, AGM has been releasing a series of social media posts this week to showcase the work conducted by department staff 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.

New York State Department of Health

The New York State Department of Health's Bureau of Community Environmental Health and Food Protection works to protect public health by assuring that foodservice establishments are operated in a manner that eliminates hazards through design and management, resulting in a decreased incidence of foodborne illness. The Bureau's Food Protection Program and Outbreak Investigation and Research Section also coordinates foodborne outbreak investigations, analyzes the findings, and uses this information to develop regulations and guidance designed to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.

Foodservice inspection data is available for inspections of restaurants, caterers, and foodservice at schools, children's camps, some institutions, and other facilities. Most foodservice inspections in New York State can be accessed through the health.data.ny.gov webpage.