Department of Agriculture and Markets

Food Safety Program (Follow-Up Review)

The Department of Agriculture and Markets is responsible for enforcing State laws and regulations relating to food safety. In our prior audit report 98-S-15, we examined the effectiveness of the Department's enforcement efforts and found that about one-third of the retail food establishments and food processors in the Department's jurisdiction had not been inspected as frequently as required. We recommended that the Department consider different strategies for managing its inspection workload, such as making greater use of technology and of inspections that focus on high-risk areas. We also identified the need for a system to measure the Department's effectiveness in fulfilling its food safety responsibilities. In our follow-up review, we found that no actions have been taken by Department officials to implement our recommendations.

For a complete copy of Report 2000-F-27 click here.