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  5. Domestic Mutual Reliance Work in Human and Animal Food West Division 6
  1. Domestic Mutual Reliance

Domestic Mutual Reliance Work in Human and Animal Food West Division 6

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The Division of Human and Animal Food West 6 (HAFW6) encompasses Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

State counterparts perform contract inspections in both human and animal food facilities.

For more information on Rapid Response Teams, Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards, and other programs, please see FDA and State Counterparts.

Alaska

FDA engages with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to perform contract human food inspections. FDA relies on the state’s expertise in the Seafood hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP), current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), and Preventive Controls program areas. State employees enter and inspect under their own state jurisdiction. Under a cooperative agreement, the Alaska DEC is also responsible for produce safety program infrastructure, education, technical assistance, inventory, and conducting produce inspections for firms regulated by the Standards for Growing Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce (also referred to as the Produce Safety Rule). Alaska DEC is in full conformance with the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards.

FDA and Alaska DEC maintain a Cooperative Agreement for the sampling and testing of finfish for radionuclides. Office of State Cooperative Programs (OSCP) Division of Milk Safety Milk Specialist stationed within HAF W6 work with the Alaska DEC Office of State Veterinarian in the NCIMS Grade A milk program as an oversight of the dairy inspection activities and the overall state dairy program. The OSCP Division of Retail Food Protection has a Retail Food Specialist assigned to work with all regulatory retail food protection agencies within the state. The OSCP Division of Shellfish Sanitation, Branch II provides oversight and technical assistance to Alaska DEC's shellfish program.

In March 2024, the FDA extended its partnership agreement with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation through March 2027. The agreement supports the state radio-analytical capacity and emergency response capability using the Portable Gamma-ray Analysis System. It also enables monitoring for radionuclides in Alaskan Coastal water seafood in response to the Fukushima emergency.  

Areas of Collaboration

  • Work planning session for planning and prioritizing work, including inspection frequency mandates, and comparison and reconciliation of inventories
  • Utilizing state inspectional data to assist with casework performed
  • Sharing compliance activities and corrective actions
  • Joint inspections of facilities when needed
  • Food Safety Task Force
  • Regulatory meetings with the state and the division’s compliance branch to discuss non-compliance of firms and bring firms into voluntary compliance
  • Training, including on-the-job training for state inspectors
  • Regulated industry information sharing
  • Product recalls oversight and communication
  • Sharing sample analyses to remove violative products from the market
  • Joint inspections of produce farms when needed
  • Produce Safety Compliance and Enforcement
  • Annual meetings
  • Regulatory guidance
  • Inventory and operational status requests
  • Radionuclide Sampling Partnership Agreement
  • Provide technical assistance in equipment, process, and operational questions
  • Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards
  • Retail food program technical assistance
  • Retail food program standardization
  • Technical assistance and state shellfish program element evaluation.
  • Standardization of state Shellfish Standardization Officers
  • Emergency and incident response coordination
  • Investigation of consumer complaints

Additional Resources

Idaho

The state of Idaho does not currently perform inspections under FDA contract, though the FDA engages with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in sharing compliance activities for awareness and usage as needed and coordinate any outbreaks for public health protection. Under a cooperative agreement, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture is also responsible for produce safety program infrastructure, education, technical assistance, inventory, and conducting produce inspections for firms regulated by the Standards for Growing Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce (also referred to as the Produce Safety Rule). The Office of State Cooperative Programs (OSCP) Division of Milk Safety Milk Specialist stationed within HAF W6 works with the Idaho Department of Agriculture Bureau of Dairy and Livestock in the NCIMS Grade A milk program to oversee the dairy inspection activities and state dairy program. The OSCP Division of Retail Food Protection has a Retail Food Specialist to work with all regulatory retail food protection agencies within the state.

Areas of Collaboration

  • Sharing compliance activities and corrective actions
  • Training for state inspectors
  • Regulated industry information sharing
  • Product recalls oversight and communication
  • Sharing sample analyses to remove violative products from the market
  • Joint inspections of produce farms when needed
  • Annual meetings
  • Regulatory guidance
  • Inventory and operational status requests
  • Provide technical assistance in equipment, process, and operational questions
  • Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards
  • Retail food program technical assistance
  • Retail food program standardization
  • Emergency and incident response coordination
  • Investigation of consumer complaints

 

Additional Resources

Montana

FDA engages with the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services (MTDPHHS) to perform contract inspections. MTDPHHS performs current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) inspections in the human food program. State employees enter and inspect under FDA authority, thus maintaining active FDA credentials. Under a cooperative agreement, the Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) is also responsible for produce safety program infrastructure, education, technical assistance, inventory, and conducting produce inspections for firms regulated by the Standards for Growing Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce (also referred to as the Produce Safety Rule). The Office of State Cooperative Programs (OSCP) Division of Milk Safety Milk Specialist stationed within HAFW6 works with the MDA Bureau of Dairy and Eggs in the NCIMS Grade A milk program to oversee the dairy inspection activities and state dairy program. The OSCP Division of Retail Food Protection has a Retail Food Specialist to work with all regulatory retail food protection agencies within the state.

Areas of Collaboration

  • Work planning session for planning and prioritizing work, including inspection frequency mandates, and comparison and reconciliation of inventories
  • Utilizing state inspectional data to assist with casework performed
  • Sharing compliance activities and corrective actions
  • Joint inspections of facilities when needed
  • Regulatory meetings with the state and the division’s compliance branch to discuss non-compliance of firms and bring firms into voluntary compliance
  • Training, including on-the-job training for state inspectors
  • Regulated industry information sharing
  • Product recalls oversight and communication
  • Joint inspections of produce farms when needed
  • Annual meetings
  • Regulatory guidance
  • Inventory and operational status requests
  • Provide technical assistance in equipment, process, and operational questions
  • Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards
  • Retail food program technical assistance
  • Retail food program standardization
  • Emergency and incident response coordination
  • Investigation of consumer complaints

 

Additional Resources:

Oregon

FDA contracts with the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) to perform contract human food inspections. FDA relies on the state’s expertise in current good manufacturing practices, acidified foods, and preventive controls program areas. State employees enter and inspect under their own state jurisdiction. Under a cooperative agreement, ODA is responsible for produce safety infrastructure, education, technical assistance, and an inventory program for produce farms regulated by the Standards for Growing, Harvesting, Holding and Packing of Produce (also referred to as the Produce Safety Rule). The Office of State Cooperative Programs (OSCP) Division of Milk Safety Milk Specialist stationed within HAFW6 works with the ODA Division of Food Safety in the NCIMS Grade A milk program to oversee the dairy inspection activities and state dairy program. The OSCP Division of Retail Food Protection has a Retail Food Specialist to work with all regulatory retail food protection agencies in the state. The OSCP Division of Shellfish Sanitation standardizes state shellfish standardization officers and provides technical assistance and oversight of the state shellfish program.

Areas of Collaboration

  • Work planning session for planning and prioritizing work, including inspection frequency mandates, and comparison and reconciliation of inventories
  • Utilizing state inspectional data to assist with casework performed
  • Sharing compliance activities and corrective actions
  • Joint inspections of facilities when needed
  • Regulatory meetings with the state and the division’s compliance branch to discuss non-compliance of firms and bring firms into voluntary compliance
  • Training, including on-the-job training for state inspectors
  • Regulated industry information sharing
  • Product recalls oversight and communication
  • Produce Farm Inventory
  • Sharing sample analyses to remove violative products from the market
  • Annual meetings
  • Regulatory guidance
  • Inventory and operational status requests
  • Provide technical assistance in equipment, process, and operational questions
  • Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards
  • Retail food program technical assistance
  • Retail food program standardization
  • Shellfish Standardization Officer standardization, technical assistance and program element evaluation.
  • Emergency and incident response coordination
  • Investigation of consumer complaints

Additional Resources:

Washington

FDA engages with the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to perform contract inspections. WSDA performs Juice Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), Seafood HACCP, current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), Acidified Foods, Environmental Sampling Assignments, and Full Scope Preventive Controls inspections in the human food program. WSDA performs Part 507 cGMP, Full PC, Non-Licensed Medicated Feed Mill, Veterinary Feed Directive, and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy inspections in the animal food program. State employees enter and inspect under their own state jurisdiction. WSDA is in full conformance with the Manufactured Food Regulatory Program Standards and Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards.

Under a cooperative agreement, the WSDA is also responsible for produce safety program infrastructure, education, technical assistance, inventory, and conducting produce inspections for firms regulated by the Standards for Growing Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce (also referred to as the Produce Safety Rule). The Office of State Cooperative Programs (OSCP) Division of Milk Safety Milk Specialist stationed within HAFW6 works with the WSDA Food Safety and Animal Health in the NCIMS Grade A milk program to oversee the dairy inspection activities and state dairy program. The OSCP Division of Retail Food Protection has a Retail Food Specialist to work with all regulatory retail food protection agencies within the state. The OSCP Division of Shellfish Sanitation Branch II oversees the WA shellfish program. The shellfish specialists standardize state standardization officers, provide technical assistance, and conduct program element evaluations to ensure NSSP conformance.

Areas of Collaboration

  • Work planning session for planning and prioritizing work, including inspection frequency mandates, and comparison and reconciliation of inventories
  • Utilizing state inspectional data to assist with casework performed
  • Sharing compliance activities and corrective actions
  • Joint inspections of facilities when needed
  • Food Safety Task Force
  • Regulatory meetings with the state and the division’s compliance branch to discuss non-compliance of firms and bring firms into voluntary compliance
  • Training, including on-the-job training for state inspectors
  • Regulated industry information sharing
  • Product recalls oversight and communication
  • Rapid Response Team
  • Joint inspections of produce farms when needed
  • Annual meetings
  • Regulatory guidance
  • Inventory and operational status requests
  • Provide technical assistance in equipment, process, and operational questions
  • Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards
  • Retail food program technical assistance
  • Retail food program standardization
  • Emergency and incident response coordination
  • Investigation of consumer complaints

Additional Resources:

 

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