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The Department helps ensure the safety and quality of Arizona’s dairy products, meat and poultry, eggs, and produce through various inspection programs. Because the dairy industry benefits from the Department’s dairy inspection program, the State should share more program costs—which the State General Fund bears almost entirely—with the industry. Similarly, the Legislature should consider transferring meat and poultry inspections to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who would conduct these inspections at no cost to the State, or require the industry to pay the costs of operating the state program. In addition, the Department could continue shifting its produce program emphasis from quality to safety by using federal grant monies to promote produce safety audits. Lastly, the Department should take additional measures to promote food defense awareness.
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