State plans sweeping changes to grocery inspections after WFTV report

Grocery stores in central Florida have been going years between inspections.  Now, the new head of the Florida Department of Agriculture said that will change.

In July, 9 Investigates discovered more than 45 stores in central Florida hadn’t been inspected in at least a year, with some going almost two years between inspections.

“The problem is this, we have a lapse from previous years that we are trying to catch up on,” said newly elected Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.  “We are doing everything we can to get through the past few years of build-up and then start going through, yearly is ideal and we are working to get there.”

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The Department of Food Safety within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has a budgeted staff of 92 inspectors, however, there are currently 10 vacancies, leaving just 82 inspectors to handle 45,000 grocery and convenience stores across the state.

For the last eight years the department has watched its number of inspectors dwindle, even as the state has grown and added more stores to be inspected.

In 2011, Florida had 126 budgeted inspector positions.  Two years later the legislature eliminated funding for 14 of those positions.  By 2016, the number of positions had fallen to 106.  Today, there are only 92.

“In order for us to get up to annual inspections, we need to double the staff,” said Fried, who will be asking the Florida Legislature for the funding to staff 160 inspectors.

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Cox Media Group