Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Division of Food Safety licenses and inspects food manufacturers, processors, and warehouses in Florida. FDACS regulates the production side of food that does not fall under USDA FSIS or DBPR. Cold-chain expectations align with federal FDA standards.
FDACS licenses food manufacturers, processors, and warehouses producing or storing food for human consumption. This includes specialty food makers, beverage processors, packaged-food manufacturers, and bottled water plants. Restaurants and foodservice are under DBPR; meat and poultry are under USDA or FDACS state meat inspection.
Most Florida specialty food manufacturers carry an FDACS Food Establishment Permit.
FDACS issues several food permit types — manufacturer, packer, salvage, retail. The manufacturer permit covers most specialty food production. Permit fees and inspection frequency depend on category and risk classification.
Confirm category with FDACS Division of Food Safety at application time.
FDACS inspectors operate under a cooperative agreement with FDA. Inspections review the same elements FDA reviews under 21 CFR 117 — Food Safety Plan, monitoring records, corrective action records, verification, calibration. The records discipline is the same.
FDACS inspection cycles vary by risk; specialty food manufacturers can expect at least annual.
FDACS expects time-temperature management consistent with FDA standards. Cooling steps follow the 135-to-70 in 2 hours, 70-to-41 in 4 more rule. Cold storage at 41°F or below for TCS product. Frozen storage at 0°F or below.
Continuous monitoring at 60-second intervals is the practical record standard.
Bottled water plants and beverage manufacturers under FDACS have additional requirements around water quality, sanitation, and product testing. Cold-chain requirements apply where the product is TCS.
Citrus juicing in Plant City, Polk County, and Lakeland operates under both FDACS and FDA regimes for processed juice.
FDACS records expectations align with FDA — cooling step records, cooler/freezer temperature records, calibration logs, corrective action records. ArcticOS™ centralizes for inspection-day retrieval.
FrostIQ™ pulls DBPR data and is not used for FDACS-licensed manufacturers.
DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) regulates restaurants, bars, and foodservice. FDACS regulates food manufacturing, processing, and warehousing. Different licenses, different inspection regimes.
Yes if your facility is required to register with FDA under Section 415. Most specialty food manufacturers register both. Some very small businesses qualify for exemptions; consult counsel.
FDACS Division of Food Safety inspectors. The cooperative agreement with FDA means the inspection scope aligns with federal expectations.
Risk-based. Specialty food manufacturers can expect at least annual; higher-risk operations more often.
Yes. Continuous monitoring at 60-second intervals satisfies FDACS expectations and the federal FDA expectations FDACS aligns to.
Suncoast Cold Systems handles process refrigeration and cooling for specialty food manufacturers across Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Riverview, Temple Terrace, and Wesley Chapel. 24/7 dispatch. Licensed Class A A/C Contractor (FL #CAC1824642), EPA 608 Universal, OSHA 30 Construction.