The Food & Dairy division of the Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture regulates approximately 9500 retail food stores, 1150 food manufacturers, 550 food warehouses, 470 dairy farms, and 25 dairy processing plants. We have 24 field inspectors and 3 supervisors in place as well as our office staff. We also administer the Youth Access to Tobacco Program.

John Sanford and myself are co-administrators of the very challenging program. We are very fortunate to work closely with FDA, USDA, University of Tennessee, industry leaders, and our counterparts all across the nation to prevent the spread of food borne illness. I have been with the Department of Agriculture for 38 years and this is my seventh year to serve as administrator.