Reports and dissemination of information; confidentiality.

(1)(a) Information that is deemed confidential under 21 C.F.R. s. 20.61, s. 20.62, or s. 20.88, or 5 U.S.C. s. 552(b), and that is provided to the department during a joint investigation concerning food safety or food-borne illness, as a requirement for conducting a federal-state contract or partnership activity, or for regulatory review, is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

(b) Such confidential and exempt information may not be disclosed except under a final determination by the appropriate federal agency that the information is no longer entitled to protection or pursuant to an order of the court.

(c) This section does not prohibit the department from collecting, reporting, or illustrating the results of these investigations.

(2) The department may:

(a) Publish reports summarizing all judgments and court orders that have been rendered under this chapter, including the nature of the charges and the disposition thereof.

(b) Disseminate any information regarding food which it considers necessary in the interest of public health and the protection of the consumer against fraud.

(3)(a) Upon request of a food establishment, the department may issue a report certifying that the requesting food establishment currently complies with the sanitation and permitting requirements of this chapter and the rules adopted thereunder. Such certification may be requested for the purpose of exporting food to a foreign country.

(b) The department may recover the cost associated with carrying out the provisions of this subsection, the amount of which shall be set by rule.