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Texas Local Department of Health and Agriculture Contact Information

Texas State Department of Health Contact Information

Most questions regarding food production, handling, sales and serving, including cottage food laws and regulations are handled by the state's local health department or department of agriculture, and sometimes by a city or county business registration office.

Texas Health Department

Main Office: Texas
Regional and Local Health Operations
1100 West 49th Street
Austin, Texas 78756

Phone: 512-776-7770
Fax: 512-776-7590
Toll-free: 800-248-4083
Email: FeedbackRLHS@dshs.texas.gov.

Texas local department of health contacts

The following counties have websites, and some have Facebook pages, that provide information regarding their department and its services:

Public Health Regions

Region 1 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 1 - Lubbock Web site
Kelly Northcott, Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters: 6302 Iola Ave, Lubbock, Texas 79424, Mail Code 1899
Phone: (806) 744-3577 FAX: (806) 783-6435
Map to Region 1 office

Region 2/3 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 2/3 - Arlington Web site
Joel Massey, MD, MPH,
Regional Medical Director
Becky Earlie-Royer, PhD, MPH, CHES, Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters: 1301 South Bowen Road, Suite 200, Arlington, Texas 76013, Mail Code 1905
Phone: (817) 264-4500 FAX: (817) 264-4506
TDD: (817) 264-4505
Map to Region 2/3 office

Region 4-5 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 4/5 - Tyler Web site
Sharon Huff, MD, MS,
Regional Medical Director
David Leary, MSW, Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters: 2521 West Front Street, Tyler, Texas 75702, Mail Code 1901
Phone: (903) 595-3585 FAX: (903) 593-4187
Map to Region 4/5 North office

Region 6/5 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 6/5 - Houston Web site

Carlos Plasencia, MD, MSPH, Regional Medical Director
Greta Etnyre, MS, RD, REHS/RS, Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters:
5425 Polk, Suite J, Houston, Texas 77023, Mail Code 1906
Phone: (713) 767-3000 FAX: (713) 767-3049
Map to Region 6/5 South office

Region 7 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 7 - Temple Web site
Sharon Melville, MD, MPH,
Regional Medical Director
Carol Davis, MSPH, CPH, Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters: 2408 South 37th Street, Temple, Texas 76504, Mail Code 1902
Phone: (254) 778-6744 FAX: (254) 778-4066
Map to Region 7 office

Region 8 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 8 - San Antonio Web site
Lillian Ringsdorf, MD, MPH, Regional Medical Director
Gale Morrow, MPH, MCHES. Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters: 7430 Louis Pasteur Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229, Mail Code 5716
Phone: (210) 949-2000 FAX: (210) 949-2015
Map to Region 8 office

Region 9-10 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 9/10 - El Paso Web site
Rachel Sonne, MD, MPH,
Regional Medical Director
Art Alvarado, RS, MPH., Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters: 401 East Franklin, Suite 210, El Paso, Texas 79901, Mail Code 1903
Phone: (915) 834-7675 FAX: (915) 834-7799
Map to Region 9/10 office

Region 11 counties map PUBLIC HEALTH REGION 11 - Harlingen Web site
Emilie Prot, DO, MPH,
Regional Medical Director
Sylvia Hobbs, Deputy Regional Director
Regional Headquarters: 601 West Sesame Drive, Harlingen, Texas 78550, Mail Code 1907
Phone: (956) 423-0130 FAX: (956) 444-3298
Map to Region 11 office

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website

FDA Labeling and Nutrition

Nutrition Facts Label, Label Claims, Menu and Vending Machine Labeling, Gluten-Free Labeling

FDA Ingredients and Packaging

Food & Color Additives, GRAS, Food Allergens, Food Contact Substances, New Plant Varieties

U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a tool, the AskUSDA site providing information from across USDA all in one place. Just type key words or phrases into the search box. Your search will provide the top 10 results from across USDA. For the best search results, keep in mind that including "and" in the search box will exclude articles that don't include all searched words. Including "or" in the search box will include articles with any of the searched words.

If you have specific USDA questions that you cannot find answers to on the site, call (202) 720-2791 or email USDA at askusda@usda.gov.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

If you are looking for the national US Department of Health, that's the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and here is the mailing address and phone number:

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Toll Free Call Center: 1-877-696-6775
Note: Please be aware that mail sent to their Washington D.C. area offices takes an additional 3-4 days to process due to security precautions.