| About Us |  |
| Welcome to the Oregon Department of Agriculture Food Safety Division. | |
| Mission Statement | |
| Our mission in the Food Safety Division is preventing the spread of foodborne illness. Diseases caused by food in the United States are responsible for an estimated 76 million cases of gastrointestinal illnesses, 325,000 illnesses resulting in hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. | |
| Organization | |
| Annual Performance Measures We accomplish our mission of preventing foodborne illness by monitoring Oregon's food industry and enforcing state sanitation laws. We also work to make sure that the consumer gets food that is not contaminated, mislabeled, misrepresented or changed in any way that would impair safety, wholesomeness or purity. Our staff of Food Safety Specialists routinely inspect food establishments throughout Oregon and work directly with the facilities to help ensure proper food handling, storage and processing practices are followed. During the inspections, we emphasize the foodlborne illness risk factors identified by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. These include, food source, personal health and hygiene, hot/cold-holding temperatures, cooking temperatures, and clean equipment, including the prevention of cross contamination. Food safety begins at the farm and ends at the consumer's table. The food chain includes the steps that food undergoes from food production, processing, storage, and transportation, until prepared by consumers. The Oregon Food Safety Division works with the producers of your food to assure its safety. Production of safe food begins at the farm, and continues with the processors, retailers, and even you, the consumer. | |
| Programs | |
To keep Oregon's food supply safe, we inspect and license all food outlets in Oregon, except restaurants.In total, 10,000 outlets are covered in the following four program areas:
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