Food Safety
Scan this QR code to view this page on Unbreaking.
What do I need to know about food safety?
Food safety is the set of practices that ensure that our food doesn’t make us sick or kill us. To be safe, our food must not contain viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens1 that cause illness (like Salmonella and E. coli), must not contain dangerous levels of contaminants like heavy metals2 or harmful chemicals,3 and must be labeled to indicate the presence of common allergens.4
The US food safety system is both complex and largely successful in maintaining a safe food supply: According to the widely used Global Food Security Index (GFSI),5 the US ranks third in the world in food quality and safety (far higher than its rankings for affordability and availability). The FDA emphasizes that this relative success is the result of the government’s proactive approach to food safety.6 Nevertheless, Biden-era changes had already weakened7 some parts of the US food safety system. Like other aspects of public health8 work—which, as a whole, receives about 3%9 of the US’s healthcare spending—food safety has struggled with chronic underfunding.10
Foodborne illnesses in particular remain a persistent public health challenge. A CDC report from March11 estimates that in 2019, foodborne pathogens caused 9.9 million illnesses in the US, resulting in more than 50,000 hospital admissions—but only 931 deaths resulted. In recent years, foodborne illness seems to be increasing: In 2024, reports of confirmed severe illness and death from contaminated food doubled12 from the previous year.
In short, the system as it stood on January 19, 2025, was already strained but mostly working.
Some historical context: The systems that ensure the safety of US food are vast and relatively new.13 Before 1906, when the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act passed into law, there was no federal legislation addressing food safety. While some state governments had laws on the books, others had none. As a result, consumers could expect to find gypsum in their flour, milk preserved with borax, and “pepper dust” made of actual dust.
In the 21st century, regulation protects us from hazards like these. Expanding on the legacy of those initial pieces of legislation, the federal government is now in charge of coordinating prevention of food hazards, containing outbreaks, and guiding the country’s future food safety initiatives. State and local systems have developed as well: Some activities, like restaurant inspections, are carried out entirely by local governments,14 and the federal government also partners with state and local officials15 to carry out many of its food safety efforts.16 On this page, we focus on the federal government’s role in ensuring food safety.
How does the federal government affect food safety in the US?
Most of the federal government’s proactive food safety work is split across two agencies:17 The USDA oversees meat and poultry,18 and the FDA oversees the safety of all other food.19 When things go wrong, the CDC also plays a vital role20 alongside the FDA and USDA in tracking and responding to foodborne illness.
The federal government:
- Sets food safety rules and guidelines: Federal agencies create rules21 to ensure that food22 is produced and distributed23 safely. They also issue guidelines for consumers24 and food establishments about how to prepare food safely.25
- Inspects food production sites: Federal investigators at the FDA26 and the USDA’s27 Food Safety and Inspection Service28 inspect both domestic and international food facilities (any site that manufactures, packages, or holds food) and commercial slaughtering plants for violations, like unsanitary conditions. When investigators find violations, they issue instructions to facilities to become compliant and, if necessary, enforce29 the rules30 through actions like injunctions to stop production.
- Monitors for illness and responds to outbreaks: The government monitors for foodborne31 illnesses32 (like E. coli33 infections), mislabeled food (like undeclared allergens),34 and chemical contamination (like heavy metals).35 When there is a problem, federal officials at the CDC,36 FDA,37 and USDA38 find the source, contain the situation, issue recalls,39 and communicate with consumers.
- Conducts research to improve food safety: Federal scientists at the FDA40 and41 USDA42 research food safety in the US and ways to improve it. For instance, government researchers investigate methods to kill pathogens in food,43 explore the sources of food contamination,44 and estimate the incidence and mortality of foodborne illness.45
Note: Food safety is distinct from “food security,”46 which addresses access to food (for instance by ensuring food is affordable and that there are no national shortages). Food safety is also distinct from “food quality,”47 which deals with nutrition, taste, and marketability.
The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again campaign mixes food quality and safety concerns to argue that America’s food is “poisoning”48 Americans.
At the same time that they make these claims, though, the Trump administration has fired workers, stripped away rules, and removed oversight that has kept food from poisoning Americans for a century. Our goal here is to break down those changes to the food safety system and keep you informed of their ongoing effects.
What is happening?
The Trump administration is using the power of the executive branch to:
- Fire and push out CDC, FDA, and USDA workers who keep the US food supply safe. More on this
- Eliminate, delay, or downgrade rules designed to reduce foodborne illnesses and make it easier to trace outbreaks. More on this
- Decrease oversight of the government’s food safety efforts; reduce transparency about outbreaks, investigations, and food safety science; and diminish enforcement against companies who break food safety rules. More on this
We’ll explain each line of attack, along with the countermoves and resilience efforts we’re seeing across American society.
Attack: Firing and pushing out crucial food safety workers
Last updated: June 4, 2025
Since February, the Trump administration has fired food safety workers across the federal government in a series of mass layoffs. Through two executive49 orders,50 they directed cabinet-level agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct cost-cutting layoffs with the guidance of the DOGE initiative.51 The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) houses both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The administration has not made the total number of fired workers or their various job titles public, but media reports, piecemeal announcements, and court filings let us assemble a picture of the damage:
- In February, hundreds of probationary (new or newly-promoted) FDA staffers were laid off,52 including 89 workers53 at the new Human Foods Program,54 which oversees all the FDA’s food safety activities.
- At the end of March, a 10,000-employee layoff at HHS55 cut a further 3,500 FDA employees.56 Fired workers included lab scientists, Human Foods Program workers, communications staff,57 and more.
- In the same March round of layoffs, hundreds of CDC employees working on food safety58 were also fired amid overall cuts of 2,400 CDC workers.59 Fired employees included instrumental players60 in the containment of a 2023 outbreak of lead poisoning61 from applesauce packets.
Thousands of workers in food safety–related agencies have also taken early retirement offers:62
- By early May 2025, 15,000 USDA employees63—about 15% of the USDA workforce—had taken resignation offers. More cuts are expected,64 with a goal of 30,000 total resignations across USDA programs.
- The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which handles meat inspections and responds to outbreaks of, among other illnesses, bird flu, saw more than 550 workers take the resignation offer.
Crucial leaders at the FDA have also left the agency: The Human Food Program’s director, Jim Jones, resigned in protest65 over firings he called “indiscriminate.” Michael Rogers, a top official overseeing food safety and drug inspections66 at the FDA, retired abruptly in early May, reportedly due to frustrations with the new leadership.
The complexity of US food safety systems can make it difficult to understand how actions like mass layoffs cascade across agency functions to compromise the safety of the food supply. The layoffs have already had clear negative effects, including:
- Fewer FDA inspections: The FDA’s routine inspection of facilities helps prevent outbreaks before they occur. The FDA had fallen behind its yearly inspection targets67 before the layoffs because of a staffing shortage.68 Layoffs of crucial support staff could force the FDA to reduce its routine inspections.69 As one employee explained,70 “we are keeping inspectors but not the people who test the samples.”
- Reduced quality control for food safety tests: As a result of the layoffs of lab scientists,71 the FDA agency suspended three72 quality73 control74 programs ensuring the reliability75 of tests in its network of laboratories. These tests monitor for contaminants like bird flu, Cyclospora, and glyphosate, a pesticide.
- Less support for state food safety teams dealing with outbreaks: Nearly all76 of the CDC’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice was laid off in March. This team provided support to understaffed state health teams while they investigated active outbreaks.
- Reduced ability to keep foreign outbreaks from spreading to the US: The layoffs decimated77 an office at the FDA that worked to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks abroad from spreading to the United States. A former official noted78 that the cuts had dire consequences for international coordination: “If Canada has a big outbreak, will they notify FDA and share that information? And if so, who would they even notify?”
- Diminished ability to carry out the administration’s promised food safety improvements: HHS announced an effort called Operation Stork Speed79 to ensure the safety of infant formula, in an apparent response80 to a Consumer Reports investigation81 revealing lead and arsenic contamination in baby formula. But layoffs have included experts in infant formula safety.82 Similarly HHS has proposed closing a loophole83 that allows companies to declare new food additives as safe without FDA notification or review. The loophole arose precisely because84 the FDA did not have enough staffers or resources to run a thorough premarket review program.
Where this stands
A lawsuit seeking to block the majority of the administration’s mass layoffs85 has resulted in a halt to layoffs while the case proceeds; the administration has appealed to the Supreme Court. Many fired probationary workers across the federal government were rehired under court orders, and then refired86 after the Supreme Court87 and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals88 paused reinstatements. Meanwhile, a Merit Systems Protection Board administrative judge ruled in May89 that probationary employees can pursue reinstatement in a class action, so we expect to see further litigation in this area.
Some fired employees at the CDC, FDA, and USDA have been asked to return to their jobs. Some fired workers who focused on chemical contamination and infant formula have been rehired.90 Lab scientists in San Francisco and Chicago have been reinstated.91 Staffers who book inspection trips have also been asked back,92 after reports that the FDA was expediting hiring93 of contractors to make up the work. As with other reinstatements, it’s unclear how many rehired workers actually returned.
Who will be affected?
Teams that monitor safety threats in the food supply and respond to foodborne crises have been devastated by Trump administration job cuts. This will slow the work of identifying and responding to tainted food,94 and chemicals and contaminants may not be detected before reaching the public supply. As a result, everyone who eats food in the US, whether it’s processed or purchased as whole ingredients, will be at greater risk of contracting foodborne illness or suffering from contamination.
Countermoves: legislative & legal actions
- A coalition of labor unions, nonprofits, and local governments95 has sued to block the mass layoffs for all classes of federal workers, including probationary workers and the many non-probationary workers fired in later rounds of layoffs.
- Coalitions of labor unions and nonprofit organizations96 and the attorneys general of 21 US states97 (including DC) have brought suits over the firings of probationary workers.
- The Merit Systems Protection Board98 has ruled that probationary workers are able to bring class actions against their removals.
- Representative Gerald Connolly (D-VA) and two other members of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform submitted a letter99 (PDF) to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. protesting cuts at the FDA that endanger the safety of the food supply and requesting more information on the layoffs. (Rep. Connolly died in office100 in May.)
Attack: Eliminating or delaying food safety regulations
Last updated: May 30, 2025
At the FDA and USDA, the Trump administration has changed, walked back, and postponed rules aimed at reducing the risk of foodborne illness.
The FDA has delayed101 a plan to finally enforce a data-reporting rule in the Food Safety Modernization Act—which was initially passed 15 years ago with bipartisan support.102 The rule required that food producers report “traceability” data for select high-risk foods, to make outbreak investigations faster and easier.
At the USDA, two different rules governing the safety of meat and poultry, one on the books and one pending, are on the chopping block:
- The first rule limited “line speeds”103 in meat processing plants. This rule helped ensure the safety of the meat,104 prevented worker injury,105 and reduced needless cruelty106 to the animals. Now, in accordance with the meat industry’s preferences,107 the USDA will extend waivers108 that allow some plants to increase those speeds, with plans to formally remove the requirement entirely.
- Additionally, in April, the USDA withdrew a proposed rule109 that would have made it illegal to sell dangerously Salmonella-contaminated poultry. Salmonella bacteria is a frequent cause of food poisoning, resulting in gastrointestinal distress, fever, and dehydration. The rule that the USDA withdrew had been three years110 in the making and would have required companies to keep Salmonella levels under a certain threshold and test for the strains most associated with illness in people. If the bacteria levels were too high or any of the risky strains were present, the poultry would have been blocked from sale and subject to recall.111
The Trump administration has also issued an executive order112 that arbitrarily requires ten rules to be repealed for any one rule proposed. Any future regulation conducted by the FDA and USDA—such as the FDA’s proposed efforts to close a loophole113 in the food additive declaration114 process—will now necessitate the withdrawal of many existing rules.
Where this stands
The first time the Trump administration lifted line speed limits, it lost a union-filed suit.115 It’s not clear whether the same thing will happen in this term, and we’ll update this page with litigation relevant to this and other regulatory rollbacks.
Who will be affected?
The administration’s postponement and walkbacks of rules reverse longstanding efforts to reduce illnesses in favor of changes that increase risk.
Food safety advocates have criticized116 the salmonella rule’s withdrawal as foregoing an opportunity to reduce preventable illnesses and deaths. Similarly, the food traceability rule would have allowed for faster removal117 of contaminated food from distribution, reducing the severity of outbreaks.
Meanwhile, faster line speeds at meatpacking plants may increase the spread of illness from Salmonella, E. coli, and other bacteria. When line speeds are faster,118 it is harder for inspectors to keep up with sanitary violations, and it is more likely that the guts of animals will be ripped open, both of which increase risk of contamination.
While most people who get food poisoning ultimately recover, some get seriously ill and die; for instance, the CDC estimates119 about 26,500 people in America are hospitalized and 420 people die from salmonella each year. The risk of hospitalization and death is highest in young children, older people, and people with weakened immune systems.
Attack: Reducing transparency, oversight, and enforcement
Last updated: May 30, 2025
On President Trump’s second day in office, the administration blocked the FDA and CDC120 from communicating with the public without approval from an official appointed by President Trump. A memo from the Acting Health Secretary121 set February 1 as the initial end date for the block and noted that agencies are also blocked from communicating in an official capacity with public officials, including governors and members of Congress. FDA communications remained shut down until the second week122 of February, and many CDC communications still appear to be blocked123 in late May. CDC workers also report that social media channels—one of the most direct forms of communication with the public—must be reviewed by HHS, who has taken over ownership of their accounts.
Layoffs at HHS have also specifically targeted the workers who report and explain food safety information to the media and the public. The former head of public engagement for the Human Foods Program, which oversees food safety for the FDA, has stated that the staff who would have handled communications124 for outbreaks of foodborne illness—such as the undisclosed E. coli outbreak125 in lettuce that killed one person and sickened at least 88—have been fired.
Teams who respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have also been fired126 at the CDC and FDA, along with media, communications, website, and social media workers in both agencies. A communication specialist fired from the FDA also reports that presidential appointees and their teams are altering language127 in communications from FDA science teams.
At the same time as it has gutted outward communications, the Trump administration has eliminated key advisory and oversight roles related to food safety across the government. At the USDA, the administration fired and forcibly removed from her office128 an Inspector General129 responsible for oversight of the agency, who had launched an investigation130 into the USDA’s botched handling of an outbreak of listeria131 at a meatpacking plant. The administration also ended relationships with two unpaid expert committees132 that advised the CDC, FDA, and USDA on meat inspection and microbiological food safety.
At the Justice Department, the administration disbanded133 a 215-person team134 that prosecuted companies that maintain insanitary facilities or distribute adulterated or mislabeled food or drugs.
Where this stands
After the FDA missed several court-ordered deadlines for producing records, some laid-off members of the team that previously responded to FOIA requests were rehired.135 Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who leads the Department of Health and Human services, stated that he would restore all FOIA offices,136 but we’ve been unable to find confirmation that the CDC’s FOIA staffers—or their other fired communications workers—have been brought back.
In February, eight fired inspectors general, including Phyllis Fong,137 sued.138 Two days later, a federal judge refused to temporarily reinstate139 them, pointing out that Trump would immediately fire them again by providing 30 days notice to Congress in compliance with the law. In late March,140 the judge indicated she did not see how she could reinstate them, though she acknowledged the firing had failed to comply with the relevant statute.
Who will be affected?
Without clear, public communication about outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, recalls, and food safety principles (like safe cooking temperatures and kitchen procedures), everyone in the US is more vulnerable to illness.
More narrowly, the reduction of transparency and oversight reduces accountability for agency actions: With few or no workers available to respond to FOIA requests at the CDC and FDA, journalists and members of the public will be significantly less able141 to hold agencies and their leaders accountable for their policies and decisions. The firing of the Inspector General at the USDA has resulted in the loss of a watchdog who makes sure the agency is doing what needs to be done to keep US meat and poultry safe to eat. As a former director of the CDC’s Office of Communications warns,142 moves like these make corrupt actions from agency leaders easier to hide.
Losing enforcement teams focused on food safety at the Department of Justice is a blow against attempts to eliminate unsafe foods and ingredients—which, once again, could ultimately affect everyone.
Countermoves: legal and legislative
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has filed a suit143 against the CDC over the destruction of its FOIA team.144 You can track the progress of this suit in the Just Security Litigation Tracker.145
Sources and notes:
Food and Drug Administration, “Microbiological Safety: The FDA’s Role in Preventing Foodborne Illness,” Oct 1, 2024 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Environmental Contaminants in Food,” Jan 17, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, Food Chemical Safety,” Mar 20, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Food Allergies,” Mar 26, 2025 ↩︎
Economist, “Global Food Security Index 2022,” Sep 2022 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Microbiological Safety: The FDA’s Role in Preventing Foodborne Illness,” Oct 1, 2024 ↩︎
TIME, “Food Safety Was Slipping in the U.S. Then Came Mass Layoffs,” Apr 8, 2025 ↩︎
Trust for America’s Health, “The Impact of Chronic Underfunding on America’s Public Health System 2024: Trends, Risks, and Recommendations,” Aug 21, 2024 ↩︎
KFF, “What is Public Health?” Mar 6, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “Food Safety Jeopardized by Onslaught of Funding and Staff Cuts,” Mar 19, 2025 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Estimates: Burden of Foodborne Illness in the United States,” Mar 19, 2025 ↩︎
Public Interest Research Groups Education Fund, “Food for Thought 2025,” Feb 13, 2025. The PIRG report we link to here (discussed also at CIDRAP) analyzes confirmed reports, so the absolute numbers are much smaller than CDC estimates of the actual number of illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths. This is a normal pattern for reported vs. estimated figures. ↩︎
The Sword and the Sandwich, “How to Not Get Poisoned in America,” Apr 30, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Inspections to Protect the Food Supply,” Mar 5, 2024 ↩︎
Congressional Research Service, ”The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer,” Dec 16, 2016 ↩︎
TIME, “Food Safety Was Slipping in the U.S. Then Came Mass Layoffs,” Apr 8, 2025 ↩︎
Congressional Research Service, ”The Federal Food Safety System: A Primer,” Dec 16, 2016 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Health and Safety,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Food,”undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “CDC and Food Safety,” May 2, 2024 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Federal Register Rules | Food Safety and Inspection Service,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “FSIS Guidelines | Food Safety and Inspection Service,”undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Guidance & Regulation (Food and Dietary Supplements),” Jan 11, 2024 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Safe Food Handling,” Mar 5, 2024 ↩︎
Food Safety and Inspection Service, “Safe Food Handling and Preparation,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Government Accountability Office, “Food Safety: FDA Should Strengthen Inspection Efforts to Protect the U.S. Food Supply,” Jan 8, 2025 ↩︎
Government Accountability Office, “Food Safety: USDA Should Take Additional Actions to Strengthen Oversight of Meat and Poultry,” Jan 23, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Food Safety and Inspection Service,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Quarterly Enforcement Reports,” Jan 1, 2025–Mar 31, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Enforcement Reports,” May 6, 2025 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System,” Sep 6, 2024 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About FoodNet,” Sep 4, 2025 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “E. coli Surveillance,” Feb 28, 2024 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Food Allergies,” Mar 26, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Testing Results for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium and Mercury,” Jan 6, 2025 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Foodborne Outbreaks,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Investigation of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks,” Jun 4, 2025 ↩︎
Food Safety and Inspection Service, “Outbreak Investigations: Response,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Recalls, Outbreaks & Emergencies,” Feb 5, 2024 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Science & Research (Food),” Oct 24, 2024 ↩︎
Food Safety and Inspection Service, “Scientific Reports,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Agricultural Research Service,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Focus Area: Technologies to Reduce Pathogen Contamination,” Sep 6, 2022 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Monitoring Programs and Information Gathering Efforts,” Oct 24, 2024 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Estimates: Burden of Foodborne Illness in the United States,” Mar 19, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Food Security in the U.S. - Definitions of Food Security,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations World Health Organization, “Assuring Food Safety and Quality: Guidelines for Strengthening National Food Control Systems,” 2003, accessed Jun 6, 2025 ↩︎
POLITICO, “RFK Jr. says food and pharma are poisoning Americans. His big report says a fix is coming,” May 22, 2025 ↩︎
Executive Office of the President, “Establishing and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’,” Jan 20, 2025 ↩︎
Executive Office of the President, “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” Feb 11, 2025 ↩︎
NBC News, “20 attorneys general sue Trump administration to restore health agencies,” May 5, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “F.D.A. Firings Decimated Teams Reviewing A.I. and Food Safety,” Feb 21, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “F.D.A.’s Food Safety Chief Resigns Over Trump Administration Layoffs,” Feb 18, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Human Foods Program,” May 20, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “10,000 Federal Health Workers to Be Laid Off,” Mar 27, 2025 ↩︎
NPR, “Widespread firings start at federal health agencies including many in leadership,” Apr 1, 2025 ↩︎
Food Safety Magazine, “As U.S. Pieces Together How HHS Cuts are Affecting Food Safety, Stakeholders Speak Out,” Apr 7, 2025 ↩︎
TIME, “Food Safety Was Slipping in the U.S. Then Came Mass Layoffs,” Apr 8, 2025 ↩︎
TIME’s figures for CDC and FDA layoffs are consistently lower than other reports, including at NPR and the New York Times, which rely on an official HHS announcement. It’s unclear whether TIME’s reporting only includes layoffs it was able to confirm, or whether the discrepancy is related to the chaos surrounding the loss of nearly all communications capacity at both agencies, or something else. ↩︎
STAT, “In its flagship journal, the CDC keeps publishing papers after firing scientists who made the research possible,” May 23, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “Investigation of Elevated Lead & Chromium Levels: Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches (November 2023),” Oct 3, 2024 ↩︎
Reuters, “Trump administration proposes cutting FDA budget by 5.5%,” May 22, 2025 ↩︎
POLITICO, “More than 15,000 USDA employees take Trump’s offer to resign,” May 4, 2025 ↩︎
POLITICO, “USDA plans to slash workforce by 30,000 employees,” Apr 11, 2025 ↩︎
Washington Post, “Read the resignation letter from FDA food director Jim Jones,” Mar 6, 2025 ↩︎
CBS News, “FDA’s top inspector abruptly retires,” May 5, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “FSMA Domestic Facility Inventory,” Aug 5, 2024 ↩︎
Government Accountability Office, “Food Safety: FDA Should Strengthen Inspection Efforts to Protect the U.S. Food Supply,” Jan 8, 2025 ↩︎
CBS News, “FDA planning for fewer food and drug inspections due to layoffs, officials say,” Apr 2, 2025 ↩︎
Regulatory Professionals Affairs Society, ”Thousands of FDA staff fired in latest RIF,” Apr 1, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “F.D.A. Layoffs Could Raise Drug Costs and Erode Food Safety,” Apr 3, 2025 ↩︎
Reuters, “FDA suspends program to improve bird flu testing due to staff cuts,” Apr 3, 2025 ↩︎
Reuters, “US FDA suspends food safety quality checks after staff cuts,” Apr 17, 2025 ↩︎
Reuters, “US FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts,” Apr 22, 2025 ↩︎
Guardian, “FDA to suspend quality-control program for food testing due to staff cuts,” Apr 17, 2025 ↩︎
TIME, “Food Safety Was Slipping in the U.S. Then Came Mass Layoffs,” Apr 8, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “F.D.A. Layoffs Could Raise Drug Costs and Erode Food Safety,” Apr 3, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “F.D.A. Layoffs Could Raise Drug Costs and Erode Food Safety,” Apr 3, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Health and Human Services, “HHS, FDA Announce Operation Stork Speed to Expand Options for Safe, Reliable, and Nutritious Infant Formula for American Families,” Mar 18, 2025 ↩︎
Food Safety Magazine, “FDA Launches ‘Operation Stork Speed’ to Improve Infant Formula Safety, Including Contaminant Testing,” Mar 18, 2025 ↩︎
Consumer Reports, “We Tested 41 Baby Formulas for Lead and Arsenic,” Mar 18, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “F.D.A.’s Food Safety Chief Resigns Over Trump Administration Layoffs,” Feb 18, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Health and Human Services, “HHS Secretary Kennedy Directs FDA to Explore Rulemaking to Eliminate Pathway for Companies to Self-Affirm Food Ingredients Are Safe,” Mar 10, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “How U.S. FDA’s GRAS Notification Program Works,” Feb 9, 2018 ↩︎
“American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Trump,” US District Court, Northern District of CA, Apr 28, 2025 (Just Security Litigation Tracker 3:25-cv-03698) ↩︎
Government Executive, “As re-firings begin, judge demands Trump administration tell probationary employees they were not let go for poor performance,” Apr 21, 2025 ↩︎
“American Federation Of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Office of Personnel Management and Ezell,” US District Court, Northern District of CA, Feb 19, 2025 (Just Security Litigation Tracker 3:25-cv-01780) ↩︎
“Maryland v. USDA,” Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Mar 17, 2025 (Just Security Litigation Tracker 1:25-cv-00748-ABA) ↩︎
Government Executive, “Appeals board creates new path to renew reversals of probationary firings,” May 27, 2025 ↩︎
Food Safety News, “FDA rehires at least one food safety employee; federal judge says some firings likely done illegally.” Mar 1, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “F.D.A. Scientists Are Reinstated at Agency Food Safety Labs,” Apr 25, 2025 ↩︎
AP, “FDA to rehire fired staffers who booked inspection trips, but other workers remain in limbo,” May 1, 2025 ↩︎
AP, “FDA hiring contractors to replace fired staff who supported safety inspections,” Apr 18, 2025 ↩︎
Risk Management, “USDA Budget Cuts Present Food Safety Risks,” May 21, 2025 ↩︎
“American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Trump,” US District Court, Northern District of CA, Apr 28, 2025 (Just Security Litigation Tracker 3:25-cv-03698) ↩︎
“American Federation Of Government Employees, AFL-CIO v. Office of Personnel Management and Ezell,” US District Court, Northern District of CA, Feb 19, 2025 (Just Security Litigation Tracker 3:25-cv-01780) ↩︎
“Maryland v. USDA,” Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Mar 17, 2025 (Just Security Litigation Tracker 1:25-cv-00748-ABA) ↩︎
Government Executive, “Appeals board creates new path to renew reversals of probationary firings,” May 27, 2025 ↩︎
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, “Letter to The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” Apr 8, 2025 ↩︎
NBC News, “Rep. Gerry Connolly, top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, dies at 75,” May 21, 2025 ↩︎
Food Safety News, “FDA puts food safety rule on hold,” Mar 21, 2025 ↩︎
Consumer Reports, “FDA delays the “Food Traceability Rule” required by Congress to improve the agency’s ability to respond to foodborne illness outbreaks,” Mar 20, 2025 ↩︎
Safety+Health, “Biden repeals USDA proposal to increase poultry-processing line speeds,” Feb 1, 2021 ↩︎
Forbes, “Why Faster Meat Processing Lines Won’t Make America Healthy Again,” Mar 24, 2025 ↩︎
Vox, “How Trump wants to make one of the most dangerous jobs in America even worse,” Mar 27, 2025 ↩︎
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “Stopping Extreme-Speed Slaughter,” undated, accessed Jun 5, 2025 ↩︎
National Hog Farmer, “FSIS ordered to extend waivers, allow pork, poultry facilities to maintain higher line speeds,” Mar 17, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Agriculture, “Secretary Rollins Takes Action to Streamline U.S. Pork and Poultry Processing,” Mar 17, 2025 ↩︎
CBS News, “USDA withdraws a Biden-era effort to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry,” Apr 25, 2025 ↩︎
AP, “USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry,” Apr 24, 2025 ↩︎
Revolving Door Project, “Tracking Food and Drug Safety During the Trump Administration, May 5, 2025 ↩︎
Executive Office of the President, “EO 14192: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” Jan 31, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Health and Human Services, “HHS Secretary Kennedy Directs FDA to Explore Rulemaking to Eliminate Pathway for Companies to Self-Affirm Food Ingredients Are Safe,” Mar 10, 2025 ↩︎
New York University, “How a Legal Loophole Allows Unsafe Ingredients in U.S. Foods,” Aug 8, 2024 ↩︎
Public Citizen, “Federal Court Throws Out USDA Rule Lifting Line Speed Cap in Hog-Slaughter Plants,” Mar 31, 2021 ↩︎
CBS News, “USDA withdraws a Biden-era effort to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry,” Apr 25, 2025 ↩︎
Food and Drug Administration, “FSMA Final Rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods,” Nov 13, 2024 ↩︎
FoodPrint, “What do faster line speeds in slaughterhouses mean for animals, workers and food safety?” May 8, 2025 ↩︎
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Salmonella,” Sep 1, 2024 (archived) ↩︎
Washington Post, “Trump officials pause health agencies’ communications, citing review,” Jan 21, 2025 ↩︎
Acting Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Dorothy A. Fink, “Immediate Pause on Issuing Documents and Public Communication,” Jan 21, 2025 ↩︎
Washington Post, “Trump officials pause health agencies’ communications, citing review,” Jan 21, 2025 ↩︎
NPR, “Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn’t warning the public like it was months ago,” May 21, 2025 ↩︎
NBC News, “A deadly E. coli outbreak hit 15 states, but the FDA chose not to publicize it,” Apr 17. 2025 ↩︎
KFF Health News, “Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety,” May 29, 2025 ↩︎
STAT, “After RFK Jr.’s ‘radical transparency’ pledge, HHS shutters much of its communications, FOIA operations,” Apr 1, 2025 ↩︎
STAT, “After RFK Jr.’s ‘radical transparency’ pledge, HHS shutters much of its communications, FOIA operations,” Apr 1, 2025 ↩︎
Reuters, “USDA inspector general escorted out of her office after defying White House,” Jan 29, 2025 ↩︎
Food Safety Magazine, “USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong Dismissed by Trump Administration,” Jan 28, 2025 ↩︎
Food Safety Magazine, “Following Deadly Listeria Outbreak, USDA Launches Internal Investigation Into How it Handled Boar’s Head’s Unsanitary Production Facility,” Oct 16, 2024 ↩︎
NPR, “USDA report finds Boar’s Head listeria outbreak was due to poor sanitation practices,” Jan 11, 2025 ↩︎
New Lede, “Decision to axe advisory groups could spell trouble for US food safety,” Mar 14, 2025 ↩︎
Reuters, “US Justice Department unit for drug and food safety cases being disbanded,” Apr 25, 2025 ↩︎
Department of Justice, Civil Division, “Consumer Protection Branch Practice Areas: Food Safety,” Jan 7, 2025 ↩︎
KFF Health News, “In Reversal, FDA Rehires Staff Tasked With Releasing Public Records,” May 2, 2025 ↩︎
NPR, “House oversight Democrat demands answers on gutting of CDC public records office,” Apr 24, 2025 ↩︎
CNN, “Government watchdogs fired by Trump sue to get their jobs back,” Feb 12, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “8 Inspectors General Fired by Trump File Lawsuit Seeking Reinstatement,” Feb 12, 2025 ↩︎
New York Times, “Judge Refuses to Immediately Reinstate Inspectors General Fired by Trump,” Feb 14, 2025 ↩︎
ABC News, “Trump probably ‘violated the law’ when he fired independent watchdogs, judge says,” Mar 27, 2025 ↩︎
The Conversation, “Sudden dismissal of public-records staff at health agencies threatens government accountability,” April 16, 2025 ↩︎
STAT, “Decimation of HHS comms, FOIA offices will leave Americans in the dark about urgent health matters,” Apr 2, 2025 ↩︎
“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. CDC,” US District Court, DC, Jun 4, 2025 (Just Security Litigation Tracker 1:25-cv-01020) ↩︎
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, “CREW sues to challenge destruction of CDC FOIA office,” Apr 5, 2025 ↩︎
Just Security Litigation Tracker, “Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington v. CDC,” Apr 4, 2025 ↩︎
Scan this QR code to view this page on Unbreaking.