Kansas Ag Department Will Oversee Food Safety

A new law took effect Wednesday making food safety and lodging inspection the responsibility of a single agency — the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Previously, food safety was a responsibility shared by the Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. When the Legislature passed Senate Bill 584 earlier this year, it moved food safety and lodging inspection jurisdiction from KDHE to the Department of Agriculture.

"Being responsible for food safety all along the food production, processing, transport, preparation and retail continuum is a responsibility we don't take lightly," said Adrian Polansky, secretary of the Department of Agriculture,. "We eagerly accept our new duties and view this change as an opportunity to reaffirm and expand on our commitment to ensuring safe food for all consumers."

The bill's provisions required that 38 positions transfer to the Department of Agriculture from KDHE on Oct. 1. Employees who fill those positions moved Sept. 22, a little ahead of schedule, to coincide with a natural break in the pay cycle.

Before the transfer, inspectors were cross-trained to conduct inspections typically carried out by the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture also arranged for several of the transferring employees to work from home, eliminating the need for them to drive to district offices to do paperwork

Source: The Capital-Journal