The Texas Department of Agriculture Biosecurity Division Keeps Food Safe
In partnership with: Texas Department of Agriculture
Texas highways are iconic, but it’s not all pedal to the metal and open roads. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Biosecurity Enforcement Division has to put the brakes on certain items being transported through and into the state.
“We are the first line of defense for agricultural products that enter the state of Texas,” says Keith Majors, administrator for biosecurity enforcement/road stations. “This can be food produce, plants, assorted nursery stock, cut flowers and more.”
Road stations are one of the most visible efforts that goes on behind the scenes to keep the food supply safe. The TDA operates three road stations – in Orange, Terrell and Mount Pleasant.
“We have field inspectors who go to supermarkets, nurseries, department stores and basically anywhere that plants or produce are sold to the consumer and check to ensure that the appropriate documentation arrived with the shipment,” Majors says. “Without the appropriate vendor documentation for food products, then the products are destroyed on-site.”
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There’s a lot to monitor in a big state where many of the pests are tiny. And while the Biosecurity Enforcement Division’s responsibilities are separate from Structural Pest Control Service, the division’s work is certainly complementary. Consider their recent response to the resurgence of New World screwworm (NWS).
“We are the first line of defense against the screwworm, a threat to the state’s livestock, which is a multibillion-dollar industry,” Majors says. “Thankfully, the TDA Biosecurity team, under Commissioner Sid Miller’s guidance, developed a cutting-edge lure to help monitor and fight the fly as it heads toward the Texas border. We are testing the lure with our partners at USDA in South America.”
The Biosecurity Enforcement Division is currently training and working with law enforcement agencies to better assist in investigations and filing charges against lawbreakers who bring in prohibited food products or untreated fruits and plants.
The Biosecurity team is currently developing a prenotification process that will be called “Texas Agri-Pass,” where TDA will request shippers to prenotify the Biosecurity staff of their shipments, and be prescreened before their arrival. The Biosecurity Enforcement staff will see if violations exist and can solve them prior to their arrival.
These new initiatives are in progress while the team performs the day-to-day activities of checking produce, plants and agricultural products for invasive species or untreated products across Texas.
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The division also closely monitors licensed hemp farmers who may be growing marijuana illegally within their farms, as well as producers who are previous offenders against biosecurity and food safety. The division gathers intelligence, tracks possible delivery locations, and performs inspections and destruction of the items illegally brought into the state.
Invasive pests are a dire threat to Texas agriculture, but the division is proactively working to keep the state’s food supply safe. From El Paso to Texarkana, they have jurisdiction over the entire state of Texas. The Biosecurity Enforcement team is working daily to keep the citizens of Texas safe.
“We are here to ensure that the plants and produce that are purchased in Texas will be free from pests and disease,” he says.