The Food and Drug Administration, which oversees 80 percent of the nation's food supply, has suspended "all routine inspections of domestic food-processing facilities," according to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. The halt in inspections comes after hundreds of FDA inspectors were furloughed due to the partial government shutdown, The Washington Post reports. And if there are not enough inspectors, there certainly cannot be enough inspections.
Gottlieb is working on a plan to bring the furloughed inspectors back to the agency "as early as next week" so they can pick back up inspections of "high-risk facilities, which handle foods such as soft cheese or seafood, or have a history of problems." He continued: "We are doing what we can to mitigate any risk to consumers through the shutdown."
The FDA typically conducts about 160 routine inspections a week, a third of which Gottlieb said involve those high-risk facilities. The agency told The Post it will continue to "inspect foreign manufacturers, imports and domestic producers involved in recalls or outbreaks, or where inspectors suspect there may be a problem."
Some have pointed out the dangers of halting inspections. Sarah Sorscher, deputy director of regulatory affairs at The Center for Science in the Public Interest, told the paper it "puts our food supply at risk. Regular inspections, which help stop foodborne illness before people get sick, are vital."
Sixty percent of the FDA is funded by user fees, while around 40 percent (including most of the food-related work) are paid by appropriations that are not yet Congress-approved.
