Deep staff reductions and a growing "politicisation of science" within the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are heightening the risk of dangerous food safety failures across the nation, according to stark warnings from former agency officials.
A Deadly Outbreak Highlights Systemic Risks
The alarming cautions come less than a year after Donald Trump returned to the White House, a period which saw his administration oversee the firing and resignation of thousands of FDA employees. The potential consequences were tragically underscored by a recent listeria outbreak linked to prepared pasta meals, which claimed six lives and left 27 people ill across 18 states.
"Those kinds of things are going to keep coming," stated David Harbourt, a former veterinary safety manager at the FDA who was dismissed last year. He claimed the agency's vital work "has been compromised for at a minimum, the short term, hopefully not the long term." Harbourt added, "It's those aspects of American people's lives that we almost take for granted that are going to be affected in a very negative way in the coming years."
Prior to the Trump administration's waves of firings and voluntary exit programmes, the FDA employed approximately 19,700 people. While some staff were later rehired, thousands departed, creating significant gaps in expertise and oversight.
Inspections and Surveillance in Sharp Decline
Sandra Eskin, CEO of the non-profit Stop Foodborne Illness and a former US Department of Agriculture food safety official, drew a vivid analogy for the situation. "It's like that kids' game Jenga where you pile up all these wooden pieces. And if you pull one out from the bottom or even the middle, the whole thing falls apart."
She expressed grave concern that the FDA "does not have a robust inspection programme" for the foods it regulates, and cutting back inspectors from this already weak baseline is deeply troubling. Data supports these fears:
- Foreign food inspections by the FDA have plummeted to their lowest level on record since 2011, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period.
- Domestic inspections have also seen a steep decline.
- Due to funding cuts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reduced the pathogens it tracks through its crucial Foodnet surveillance programme from eight to just two.
Frank Yiannas, who served as FDA deputy commissioner for food policy under both Trump and Biden, highlighted the danger of reduced surveillance, especially as food recalls are increasing. "Foodnet and the pathogens that they track is critical, because it's the ultimate scorecard of whether we're getting better or worse on performance in food safety," he said.
"Consumers in general, when they hear there are cuts to food-borne disease surveillance programmes at the CDC, they should pay attention," Yiannas urged. "It's not a good idea if any food-borne illness remains invisible."
'Politicisation of Science' and a Damaged Workforce
Beyond the raw numbers, former staff have criticised a toxic culture shift and the wasteful churn of firings and rehirings. They firmly reject Trump administration claims that the cuts have not impaired the FDA's mission.
David Harbourt noted that his own responsibilities were later assigned to two full-time employees pulled from other roles. "Turning the federal government into a temp employee agency is going to have negative effects for all Americans," he warned.
This sentiment exists alongside hostile rhetoric from some right-wing commentators and officials, who have labelled federal workers "worthless parasites." Russell Vought, Trump's pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, stated before the 2024 election that "we want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected."
"The vast majority of federal employees really do try to do the best work for the American public," Harbourt countered. "Seeing that framed as something where we're all worthless... is objectively false."
An anonymous former FDA employee accused the administration of sidelining proper regulatory process, stating, "We are seeing more policy announcements through journal articles and podcasts rather than through carefully constructed guidance documents." They added, "The FDA has always steered clear from politics as much as it was able, but we've seen such a politicisation of science with this administration."
Another anonymous ex-staff member pointed to the impact on public health research and communication. "Agencies like FDA rely on scientific studies, but do you know what can't happen without funding? Research... without communications professionals, research findings and reporting does not get shared."
Concerns are compounded by the fact that both the current FDA leader, Martin Makary, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of the overseeing Department of Health and Human Services, have promoted health-related conspiracy theories. Makary recently used a podcast to push lab leak theories about HIV and Lyme disease.
"Scientific integrity has been destroyed by Secretary Kennedy and Secretary Makary. Many longtime FDA leaders have been pushed out, or left, because there is no more credibility in US public health," one former employee claimed. "I believe that this decimation of the federal workforce will set us back as a country for decades. We are no longer a world leader in public health, and that's a scary thing."
In response to criticisms, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson, Emily Hilliard, stated, "FDA inspectors were not impacted, and this critical work will continue uninterrupted... The FDA remains fully committed to protecting the public... Enforcement decisions are grounded in the latest gold-standard science. This will not change."
However, a former employee dismissed the idea that losing thousands of staff has no impact as "absurd," quipping, "It doesn't even pass the laugh test. What organization isn't going to be impacted by the departure, not just of a lot of people, but entire offices?"
