FDA vs USDA Jurisdiction

Two federal agencies regulate the US food supply, and which one handles a recall depends on the type of food. The FDA covers roughly 80 percent of the food supply: packaged and processed foods, produce, seafood, dairy, shell eggs, bottled water, and dietary supplements. Its recalls appear in the openFDA enforcement dataset that this tool reads. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) covers meat, poultry, and processed egg products. A beef, chicken, pork, or deli meat recall is handled by FSIS, posted on fsis.usda.gov/recalls, and does not appear in the FDA food enforcement data. The line can blur with mixed products. A frozen meal with both chicken and vegetables, or a sandwich with deli meat, may fall under USDA jurisdiction because of the meat content, even though most of the product is FDA-regulated. The practical rule for searching recalls: use an FDA recall tool for packaged foods, produce, dairy, and supplements. For anything centered on meat or poultry, check the USDA FSIS page directly. If you are not sure which agency covers a product, search both, since a single ingredient recall can ripple across products in both systems.