Who Inspects What? Our Food Safety Partners

Different agencies are responsible for different types of food safety inspections.  Here is a summary of the work done by each of the food inspection partner agencies in Washington State.

Retail food establishment inspection - Local Health Departments

Retail establishments are those that sell food directly to the consumer. Whatcom County Health and Community Services, and other local health agencies are responsible for inspecting:

• Restaurants
• Retail grocery stores
• Food trucks
• Coffee shops
• Taverns and brew pubs
• Caterers
• Temporary vendors at fairs, festivals, farmers markets, and fundraisers.

Follow this link to contact other local health jurisdictions in Washington State: Local Health Departments.

Tribal facilities and institutions (including retail food establishments on tribal lands) - Northwest Washington Indian Health Board

Hospitals, prisons, and ferries - Washington State Department of Health

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities - Washington State Department of Social and Health Services

Child care centers - Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families

Wholesale food processors - Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA):

Wholesalers sell food to retail stores or distributors. WSDA is responsible for licensing and inspecting:

• Custom meat facilities
• Seafood processing plants
• Dairy farms
• Coffee roasters
• Farms that process fresh produce
• Some internet food sales
• Wholesale processors preparing foods that are sold inside Washington State
  • Except most meat products - see US Department of Agriculture 

Wholesale food processors distributing interstate and internationally - US Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

FDA inspects wholesale facilities that process food for sale outside of Washington State. FDA partners with WSDA to inspect some processing facilities.

Wholesale meat processing - US Department of Agriculture (USDA):

USDA is responsible for inspecting wholesale facilities that process most meat products. Foods containing beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, duck, or goat are under USDA jurisdiction.