Find information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Food Safety Laboratory.

Located in Tallahassee, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' (FDACS) Food Safety Laboratory consists of an elite team of scientists who work to ensure that Florida consumers have access to the safest possible food supply. The Bureau of Laboratories consists of a chemistry and biology section that each focus on detecting hazards in foods that are manufactured or sold in the state of Florida. The laboratory works closely with Bureau of Food Inspection and and Bureau of Dairy Industry inspectors, who take appropriate action on any abnormal test results coming out of the Food Safety Lab.  

Samples are submitted by FDACS inspectors who inspect Florida's retail and wholesale food businesses and dairy industry facilities. There are a variety of reasons for sample collection, including a connection with specific food investigations or a targeted surveillance of products of concern. Food samples can be analyzed for pathogenic bacteria, protozoan parasites, toxins, allergens, chemical contamination, pesticide residues, nutrition, food additives, fraudulent formulations, or any combination of these.

The FDACS Bureau of Quality Management oversees all laboratory quality activities to ensure complete and accurate test results. The Food Safety Laboratory maintains accreditation by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard, General Requirements for the Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories, for the specific tests listed in certificates 2534.01 and 2534.02. The ISO/IEC 17025 standard is the internationally recognized standard for assessing the quality and competence of laboratories' analytical testing activities. The biology section also includes the Grade “A” dairy testing program and serves as the approved central dairy laboratory, maintaining compliance with the Evaluation of Milk Laboratories (EML) to ensure dairy Grade “A” facilities meet the sanitation standards of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO).