Texas Food Safety Consultant
HACCP, Preventive Controls, and SQF programs for food and beverage manufacturers across every corner of Texas.
Texas makes more food, in more forms, across more distance than almost any state in the country: beef and beverages, tortillas and snacks, Gulf seafood and Valley produce, dairy and packaged goods. It also runs its own licensing and its own state meat inspection, so what an auditor or the state expects can differ from what you saw elsewhere. Wherever your plant sits, from the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley, we do the hands-on work of building or upgrading your food safety plans, prerequisite programs, and traceability, then rehearse the audit so nothing surprises you. We build it with your team, not as a course you finish alone.
- 500+
- GFSI audits led by our Chief Food Safety Officer Dave Seddon
- 8+
- Certification and audit schemes we prepare you for
- 70%
- Less time spent on compliance documentation
One state, many food economies, and a rulebook that is partly its own
Texas supports roughly 130,000 food and beverage manufacturing jobs, and the sector has grown faster here than in the country as a whole. What makes the state unusual for food safety work is not just the scale but the spread: the products, hazards, and buyers in a Panhandle beef plant look nothing like those in a Rio Grande Valley produce house, a Dallas bakery, or a Houston cold-storage importer. On top of that, Texas licenses its own manufacturers and inspects much of its own meat, so a program built for another state does not automatically satisfy Texas. We work statewide, and we tailor the program to your region, your product, and the specific Texas requirements that apply.
The same standard, tuned to what each part of Texas makes
Food manufacturing is concentrated differently across the state, and each cluster brings its own hazards and its own audits. A sampling of where we work and what it takes:
Beef and cattle processing
Texas leads the nation in cattle, and the Panhandle is dense with slaughter and processing. Heavy on USDA or state inspection, HACCP, and pathogen control.
Poultry and protein
Poultry processing clusters in East Texas, with further-processing and RTE lines that demand Listeria control and environmental monitoring.
Seafood and cold-chain imports
Gulf seafood and the Port of Houston bring seafood HACCP under 21 CFR 123 and heavy supplier and import verification.
Produce, citrus, and canning
The Valley's fruit and vegetable production feeds packing, freezing, and canning operations under the Produce Safety Rule and acidified food rules.
Tortillas, masa, and Tex-Mex
Texas is a national center of tortilla and masa production, with acidification, moisture, and mold controls specific to the category.
Beverages, bakery, and packaged foods
Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio host beverages, bakeries, snacks, and co-packers scaling into national retail.
Working in a specific Texas metro? Start with your city
We support food and beverage manufacturers statewide, with dedicated pages for the metros where we do the most work. If your operation sits in or near one of these, its page digs into the local industry and the requirements you will meet.
Houston
Port of Houston cold chain, imports and co-packing, seafood, and petrochemical-adjacent food logistics.
Austin
CPG startups, craft beverage, and cottage-to-wholesale brands scaling into the H-E-B and national retail pipeline.
San Antonio
Military and institutional feeding, heritage Tex-Mex, and tortilla, masa, and spice manufacturing.
Dallas-Fort Worth
The state's largest cluster of food manufacturing establishments, spanning bakery, beverage, protein, and distribution.
El Paso & the border
Cross-border trade, produce, and specialty manufacturing along the Texas-Mexico corridor.
Rio Grande Valley
McAllen and Brownsville produce, citrus, packing, and freezing operations.
How Texas licenses and inspects food, and where it differs
Texas regulates food manufacturing through the Department of State Health Services, and it does a few things its own way. Knowing which pieces apply to you keeps a build, a launch, or a renewal on track.
Food manufacturer license - TEXAS DSHS, 25 TAC 229
Most operations that manufacture, pack, or hold processed food need a Processed Food Registration under the Sherman Law, issued after a compliance inspection. It is the core state authorization to operate.
Warehouse and wholesaler licensing - TEXAS DSHS
Storing or distributing food brings separate warehouse operator and wholesaler requirements. Operations that both manufacture and warehouse often carry more than one authorization at once.
State meat and poultry inspection - DSHS MEAT SAFETY ASSURANCE
Texas runs its own meat program. Intrastate slaughter and processing require a state Grant of Inspection with a HACCP plan, while custom and small poultry or rabbit operations may qualify for exemptions. Interstate meat still falls under USDA-FSIS.
Federal and product-specific rules - FDA, USDA
Interstate sales bring FDA Preventive Controls under 21 CFR 117 and, for covered foods, FSMA 204 traceability. Seafood and juice run HACCP under Parts 123 and 120, and acidified and low-acid canned foods carry their own filings.
Cottage food and specialty categories - TEXAS COTTAGE FOOD LAW / TABC
Texas has a broad cottage food law for low-risk home production, while dairy, aquatic life, and frozen desserts sit under their own chapters, and anything with alcohol involves the TABC.
Right-sized programs for how Texas makes and moves food
Beef, poultry, and meat processing
Slaughter and further-processing operations under state or USDA inspection, with heavy pathogen-control needs.
Tortilla, masa, and Tex-Mex
Tortilla, masa, sauce, and prepared-food producers managing acidification, moisture, and shelf-life controls.
Beverages and craft drinks
Soft drink, water, brewery, winery, and RTD producers packaging for statewide and national distribution.
Seafood and cold storage
Gulf seafood, importers, and cold-chain operations under seafood HACCP and supplier verification.
Produce, packing, and canning
Valley and Central Texas produce, freezing, and acidified or canned food operations.
Bakery, snacks, and co-packers
Commercial bakeries, snack makers, and contract manufacturers serving many brand customers.
Whatever your buyers, licenses, and inspectors require
We prepare Texas facilities for the certifications and regulatory frameworks that retailers, distributors, and inspectors expect, then keep the program running between audits.
HACCP
SQF
BRCGS
FSSC 22000
FSMA Preventive Controls
GMP and cGMP
USDA
GFSI-aligned
Software that keeps a multi-site Texas operation organized
Consulting gets you certified. The platform keeps you ready. Built with expert food safety guidance and tailored to different industries, it produces the organized records that auditors, buyers, and Texas inspectors expect to see.
AI HACCP Builder
Pre-built templates cut HACCP plan development from hours to minutes, with expert guidance built in.
AI SOPs and Checklists
Automatically generates SOPs and checklists, flags missed tasks, and keeps protocols on track.
Batch and Inventory
Real-time tracking of production, inventory, and cost, reducing errors that create compliance gaps.
Traceability and Recall
Links ingredients to finished products for fast mock recalls and clean, defensible audits.
Supplier Compliance
Automates supplier document management and updates, cutting manual effort and adding transparency.
Live Monitoring and Alerts
Dashboards track KPIs in real time and send instant alerts on incidents so you can act quickly.
A consistent method, wherever your plant sits in Texas
1 - Assess
We review your operation and measure it against your target standard and Texas licensing and inspection, ending in a prioritized plan tied to your date.
2 - Build
We create or refine hazard analysis, preventive controls, SOPs, state or USDA HACCP where meat is involved, supplier approval, and traceability.
3 - Verify
We design environmental monitoring and sanitation controls so the program holds up under real production conditions.
4 - Rehearse
We run a mock audit, coach your recordkeepers, and close remaining gaps with effective corrective actions before the real thing.
Co-Founder & Chief Food Safety Officer
Meet the Lead of Our Expert Texas Food Safety Consultant Team
Driven to ensure organizational requirements meet the challenges of technology integration with sound food safety and quality planning with focus on risk mitigation and prevention. Technical expertise in audit standards, lead instructor via accredited programs, and community leader to advance local / national food ecosystems.
What food and beverage teams say about working with us
"We like the customizable options and ease of use. The support that comes with it. We would not have been able to pass our audit without the support staff of FoodReady."
"Food safety as a mandatory path has only become important in the last 10-15 years in the food industry. Nowadays, the FDA, USDA, SQF, and consumers no longer care if the food quality is good if it cannot be proven food-safe. What attracted Eurobake to FoodReady software is that FoodReady started with food safety and food traceability as its core. And because of this construct, it can easily be bolted on to accounting or manufacturing modules without corrupting or overcomplicating the data gathering process"
"FoodReady food safety software and SQF / GMP expert QA Manager Consultants helped us prepare for and develop the required haccp plans and SOPs and recall plan and checklists and batch monitoring for our future GMP certification audit which we passed. This has allowed us to expand our business relationship with a national grocery chain. We can’t thank FoodReady enough for the wonderful assistance they provided!"
"The hierarchy of our food safety/quality control team was changing, and we wanted a system that would grow with us. Being a newer company as well, FoodReady was the perfect companion. As a company grows, needs ebb and flow and changes, FoodReady has been more than accommodating to that. The software effortlessly keeps track of all of our changes to stay in compliance with the regulations set forth by the BRC standard for Documentation."
Texas food safety consulting, answered
Who licenses food manufacturers in Texas?
The Texas Department of State Health Services licenses food manufacturers, warehouse operators, and wholesalers under 25 TAC 229. The food manufacturer license runs on a two-year, biennial cycle. Meat and poultry, dairy, aquatic life, and frozen desserts fall under their own chapters, and interstate sales bring FDA jurisdiction.
What is Texas Senate Bill 25 and does it affect us?
SB 25 added warning-label requirements to the Texas Health and Safety Code. It took effect September 1, 2025 and applies to food labels developed or copyrighted on or after January 1, 2027. If you sell packaged food in Texas, it is worth reviewing labels and reformulation plans ahead of that date, and we can help you assess exposure.
Can you prepare us for SQF, BRCGS, or other GFSI audits?
Yes. We prepare facilities for SQF, BRCGS, and FSSC 22000, plus HACCP, FSMA Preventive Controls, GMP and cGMP, and USDA documentation. We run gap assessments, build documentation, run mock audits, and coach staff. We do not provide certification training.
Does Texas do its own meat inspection?
Yes. Texas operates a state Meat Safety Assurance program that issues Grants of Inspection for intrastate slaughter and processing, each requiring a HACCP plan. Custom operations and small poultry or rabbit producers may qualify for exemptions, while meat sold across state lines falls under USDA-FSIS.
Do you serve our part of the state?
Yes. We work with manufacturers across Texas, from the Panhandle and East Texas to the Gulf Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, and the major metros. We have dedicated local pages for Houston, Austin, and San Antonio, and we support every other region statewide, on-site and remotely.
We operate more than one plant in Texas. Can you standardize us?
Yes. For multi-site operators we build one core program with site-specific hazard analyses and controls, so each plant meets its local and federal requirements while your documentation, training, and records stay consistent across the company.
Talk to a food safety expert about your Texas operation
Book a free consultation with our food safety and quality team, and get a clear path to your next Texas license, audit, or state inspection.
Speak with our Expert Consultants
15–30 minutes. We map FoodReady to your process, plug in your real HACCP plan, and show you the auditor view before the call ends.