Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (2024)

FAQs

What does the Florida Department of agricultural and consumer Services do? ›

Home - Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Supporting and promoting Florida agriculture, the environment, consumers, and ensuring the safety and quality of food. Our programs impact the well-being of every Floridian.

We protect Florida's livestock, honey bees and crop plants from pests and diseases. We promote Florida's 300 agricultural commodities across America and around the world. We help farmers implement best management practices to conserve water and prevent water pollution.

FDACS is responsible for supporting and promoting Florida agriculture, protecting the environment, safeguarding consumers, and ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of food.

We provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, nutrition, and related issues based on public policy, the best available science, and effective management.

The USDA is responsible for overseeing farming, ranching, and forestry industries, as well as regulating aspects of food quality and safety and nutrition labeling. The USDA is further tasked with administering several social welfare programs including free school lunches and food stamps.

Our agencies help to keep America's farmers and ranchers in business and ensure that the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and properly labeled.

Wilton Simpson, Florida's 13th Commissioner of Agriculture, is a fifth-generation Floridian, proud to be born and raised in the Sunshine State.

FSIS protects public health by preventing illness from meat, poultry and egg products. We do this by ensuring these products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled. FSIS is part of a science-based national system to ensure food safety and food defense.

What does the US Department of agriculture inspect? ›

Safety Through Inspection

FSIS protects the public's health by ensuring that meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled.

Among Florida's top agricultural products are oranges, greenhouse and nursery products, cane for sugar, and cattle and calves. Florida's recognized signature crop is citrus. The 2017 Census of Agriculture shows 502,886 acres in orchards (known as groves in Florida), second only to California.

Only land that is used for growing plants and necessary service areas shall be classified as agriculture. Land used for landscape service business is not an agricultural use. A bona fide commercial irrigation system must be in place.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) regulates and licenses the pest control industry under the authority of the Structural Pest Control Act, Chapter 482, Florida Statutes, and the associated rules, Chapter 5E-14, Florida Administrative Code.

The Consumer Services Unit is the major point of intake for consumer complaints about health care practitioners in Florida. Complaints may be filed using the Florida Health Care Complaint Portal or emailing MQA.ConsumerServices@flhealth.gov.

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation's mission is to be “one voice advocating for viable farm families and enriching the quality of life for all Floridians.” The vision of Florida Farm Bureau is to be “The Voice of Florida Agriculture.”