FDA Suspends Milk & Dairy Quality Tests Due To Staffing Cuts
The federal agency has also stopped accurate testing for bird flu in milk and cheese.
The Trump administration has been making deep cuts to government staffing and programs in a bid to save taxpayer money. But as DOGE continues to lay off workers and shutter programs, whistleblowers warn that our kids’ health and safety will be affected.
Yesterday, Reuters reported that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will stop their milk and dairy quality control program due to a lack of staff and resources caused by administrative cuts.
The information was written in an internal email from the FDA’s Department of Dairy Safety, and said that the Moffett Center Proficiency Testing Laboratory "is no longer able to provide laboratory support for proficiency testing and data analysis," the email said.
"The FDA is actively evaluating alternative approaches for the upcoming fiscal year and will keep all participating laboratories informed as new information becomes available," it continued.
This news comes after over 20,000 full-time workers at Health and Human Services (HHS) were either asked to resign or laid off earlier this year. The department abruptly went from 82,000 workers to 62,000 workers.
Milk testing by the FDA focuses on a number of safety concerns, including drug residues (such as antibiotics), pathogens (such as salmonella), and viruses (such as bird flu). They also ensure that the composition of the milk is healthy and that the milk has been properly pasteurized.
Testing at the federal level also sets a quality standard that other food testing labs follow.
An HHS spokesperson told Reuters that dairy proficiency testing is “paused” while they transition the work to a different laboratory.
Testing milk and dairy products for avian flu (H5N1) has been part of the country’s first line of defense against the pandemic spread of bird flu to humans. The first occurrence of bird flu in dairy cows took place about a year ago, in March 2024. Since then, over 1,000 dairy herds have been infected in 17 states. Of the 70 human cases of bird flu in humans in the United States in the past year, 41 were infected by a dairy cow.
Generally, the process of pasteurization kills harmful bacteria and viruses, making it safe to drink. However, the FDA will now no longer be testing for proper pasteurization.
Young kids, seniors, and those with compromised immune systems are in particular danger of adverse health affects related to contaminated or unpasteurized milk.
