Section 35-7-123 - Establishment of food safety system(a) The director of the department of agriculture shall establish and maintain a food safety program located within the department. The director shall carry out the provisions of the food safety program and shall be assisted by the director of the department of health. A local department of health, if established according to law, may establish and maintain its own local food safety program so long as the program meets the requirements of this act. The director of the department of agriculture or his designee shall: (i) Gather food safety information and disseminate the information to the public, food industry and to local departments of health with a food safety program;(ii) On a voluntary basis, provide food safety training for the food industry in this state, work with other state, local and federal agencies to coordinate food safety educational efforts;(iii) Regulate the safety of foods and work together with the department of health to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this act, except that the director of the department of agriculture shall not promulgate any rules which impose standards or requirements related to meat processing which are more stringent than federal law, rules or regulations. In any area which does not have a local food safety program established pursuant to law, the department shall issue licenses, conduct inspections, hold hearings to enforce any legal provision or rule promulgated under this act;(iv) Maintain a statewide database of food licenses and inspection results;(v) Work with federal, state and local agencies to coordinate food safety efforts and activities, and coordinate with all other agencies to maintain consistency in inspection and enforcement activities;(vi) Establish food safety priorities for this state based on risk and information provided by the department of health;(vii) Provide laboratory support for the analysis of routine food and water samples used to support inspection activities and to monitor safety;(viii) Report each year to the department of health on how the food safety activities have addressed the epidemiological data provided by the department of health;(ix) Assist the department of health, or any local jurisdiction, when requested to investigate possible food borne and water related illness;(x) Establish and maintain a meat inspection program for this state. However, nothing in this act shall be construed to grant authority in the director of the department of agriculture or his designee for the inspection or regulation of live animal production or the processing and storage of meat by a producer of live animals for nonprofit consumption.(b) The director of the department of health or his designee shall:(i) Carry out the surveillance of food borne illness with assistance from the department of agriculture and report each year to the department of agriculture and local jurisdictions on the leading causes of food borne illness;(ii) Participate with the department of agriculture in a joint food safety rulemaking process;(iii) Ensure the department of health is the lead agency for the investigation of possible food borne illness and outbreaks and to request assistance from the department of agriculture and local jurisdictions as determined to be necessary by the department of health;(iv) Provide laboratory support for and conduct analysis of samples connected with disease outbreak investigations;(v) Provide support for local food safety programs as authorized by the legislature;(vi) Take appropriate action against any person holding a food license for the purpose of protecting the public health and preventing the transmission of infectious disease;(vii) Provide consultation and advice on food borne illness to local jurisdictions and to the department of agriculture as requested.(c) Duties of a local board of health shall include:(i) Issuing licenses, conducting inspections, holding hearings and taking enforcement actions as necessary to carry out the provisions of the food safety program;(ii) Promulgating rules containing provisions for inspections which may differ from state food safety regulations promulgated under this act so long as direct food safety and disease transmission requirements including cooking temperatures, hot and cold holding temperatures, reheating times and temperatures, cooling times and temperatures, and such other requirements as determined by the department of agriculture, do not differ;(iii) Coordinating activities with the department of agriculture in order to provide for statewide consistency;(iv) Providing the department of agriculture with a quarterly report providing information on any food licenses issued and the results of any food inspections;(v) Reporting to the department of health any food borne outbreak of illness and assist the department of health in any outbreak investigations, if requested.(d) A local jurisdiction may provide laboratory support for food safety and drinking water inspection and accompanying monitoring activities.Amended by Laws 2022 , ch. 55, § 1, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by Laws 2021 , ch. 44, § 1, eff. 7/1/2021.