FDA Cuts Lab Quality Control Program, May End Routine Food Safety Inspections

The fallout from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s massive round of job cuts last month continues as multiple sources told CBS News the Food and Drug Administration is drawing up plans to end routine food safety inspections.

The plans, if enacted, would shift the burden of inspections to the states while reserving resources for federal inspectors to pursue international and high-priority inspections.

So some critical work, like monitoring infant formula manufacturers, would remain with the FDA, while other work, like milk safety, could be overseen entirely by state and local agencies, according to the sources who spoke to CBS News.

According to a January report from the Government Accountability Office, the FDA oversees around 75,000 domestic food facilities and 125,000 foreign food facilities. Around one-third of the agency’s routine domestic inspections are currently handled by the states.

Regarding the possible suspension of some FDA food safety inspections, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told HuffPost in an email that “FDA is actively working to ensure continuity of operations during the reorganization period and remains committed to ensuring critical programs and inspections continue.”

The international inspections, however, are likely affected already by the fact that Kennedy retained the safety inspectors themselves but fired the support staff facilitating their work.

That includes firing lab scientists who need to rapidly test samples for contamination, administrative staff who coordinate travel for inspectors to access pharmaceutical plants in different parts of the world, and communication specialists who alert the public should something go awry.

According to The Associated Press, 170 staffers at the FDA’s Office of Inspections and Investigations were cut, including all the personnel who book travel and obtain visas and security for inspectors in Asia, South America and other regions.

The FDA has been forced to hire outside contractors to cover the workload of some of the fired workers, presumably at a much higher cost.

In a separate development Thursday, the FDA suspended a quality control program that ensured its network of 170 labs across the country returned consistent, accurate results.

An internal email seen by Reuters conceded that “significant reductions in force” at the agency will result in “an immediate and significant impact” on the program.