“It’s only a matter of time before people die”: Trump cuts hit food inspections

The number of inspections conducted on foreign food facilities supplying the U.S. market has reached alarming lows this year, as revealed by a ProPublica analysis of federal data. This significant decline comes at a time when the United States relies heavily on imported food products, including seafood and fresh fruit, raising serious concerns about public health. Current and former officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) attribute this reduction in inspections to drastic staffing cuts implemented during the Trump administration. The consequences are dire, as foreign food products have increasingly been associated with outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Investigations have uncovered disturbing conditions at facilities producing food for American consumers, including instances where workers in Indonesia transported cookie dough in unsanitary buckets and seafood in China was processed on damaged conveyor belts. The FDA has documented numerous violations, such as the presence of insects, leaking pipes, and falsified testing results intended to mislead regarding the safety of food products. In response to concerns over varying safety standards, Congress granted the FDA enhanced authority in 2011 to ensure that foreign food producers meet the same safety benchmarks as domestic manufacturers. As a result, inspections initially surged, sometimes doubling or tripling previous rates. However, the situation has drastically changed. Current projections indicate that the U.S. is on track for the lowest number of inspections recorded since 2011, excluding the period during the global pandemic. The decline began early in the Trump administration, as approximately 65% of staff in the divisions responsible for managing travel and budgets were let go under the guise of government efficiency. This shift forced investigators to manage their travel arrangements independently, leading to delays in reimbursements and increased out-of-pocket expenses, as they were responsible for paying their own credit card bills. Many senior investigators also chose to retire, exacerbating the staffing crisis.