The Food & Dairy division of the Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture regulates approximately 9000 retail food stores, 650 food manufacturers, 450 food warehouses, 650 dairy farms, and 25 dairy processing plants. We have 29 field inspectors and 4 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 33 years and this is my second year to serve as administrator.