FDA pauses milk quality testing amid Health and Human Services cuts; lab transfer planned
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has suspended its quality control program that tests milk and other dairy products.
The Food Emergency Response Network Proficiency Testing Program is currently in the process of transferring to another lab that will allow the program to continue, an FDA spokesperson confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY on April 22.
"In the meantime, state and federal labs continue to analyze food samples, and FDA remains committed to working with states to protect the safety of the pasteurized milk supply," the agency said.
An internal email sent by the agency's Division of Dairy Safety said the proficiency testing program for Grade "A" raw milk and finished products is suspended effective since April 21, according to Reuters.
Pause comes after health department layoffs
The disruption comes after the Department of Health and Human Services cut 10,000 jobs across agencies earlier in April, including the FDA, as well as sister agencies like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
However, the FDA spokesperson did not confirm that staffing had any correlation with the pause of the quality control program.
Among those laid off were FDA staffers who played a role in the federal response to the ongoing bird flu outbreaks, according to former staff and professional groups.
When asked about cuts to FDA this month, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson referred to public statements and a fact sheet from the agency and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas
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