Food safety law divides along a line most people have never noticed: meat and poultry are inspected continuously by federal personnel standing in the plant, while nearly everything else is regulated by a system of preventive controls that agency inspectors audit occasionally. This article explains why that difference exists, what continuous inspection actually means for a small processor, and how the mark of inspection determines where a product may be sold. It covers the produce safety and preventive controls frameworks that reach farms and food facilities, the exemptions that determine whether a small operation is regulated at all, and why those exemptions are narrower than producers believe. It explains adulteration and misbranding, recalls and the recall that is almost always voluntary, and the responsible corporate officer doctrine that makes food executives criminally liable without proof of intent. It closes with the liability that follows an outbreak.