Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Job Cuts Spark Food Safety Debate

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been slimmed down recently amid unprecedented layoffs. Now, there’s a big debate as to whether these layoffs will impact bureaucracy or cut the agency to the bone, potentially exposing our nation’s food supply to more safety risks.

The Trump Administration, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), laid off about 3,500 FDA employees as part of a larger 10,000-person reduction in force (RIF) at HHS. Kennedy cited “bureaucratic sprawl” and a need to pare back a bloated organization. In a recent social media post, he said the HHS is being “recalibrated to emphasize prevention, not just sick care.” “Our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs,” he wrote. “But the reality is clear: what we’ve been doing isn’t working.”

What remains unclear, though, is what sort of impact these cuts will have, particularly on the safety of the food supply.

A Shrinking FDA & CDC

The cuts amount to about 20 percent of the FDA staff, following previous layoffs of another 700 workers. The Trump Administration also announced 2,400 layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). HHS said there will be “a focus on streamlining operations and centralizing administrative functions.”

“FDA inspectors were not impacted, and this critical work will continue,” said an HHS statement.

The administration said cuts primarily targeted workers involved in policy, HR, IT, procurement, and communications, but reportedly also included support staff from travel to laboratories.

“[The] FDA as we’ve known it is finished,” former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said on LinkedIn after the firings were announced.

The FDA employed about 18,000 workers when President Trump took office, although it, along with many other government agencies, is shrinking.

Food Fix reported that more than 230 Human Foods Program staff were fired, including toxicologists and microbiologists who worked on food safety in laboratories. Nearly all FDA staff in the Division of Food Processing Science and Technology were reportedly laid off. According to federal health officials who spoke with publications on the condition of anonymity, around 170 workers were reportedly cut from the FDA’s Office of Inspections and Investigations.

Some key officials left voluntarily in protest, such as FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones. FDA vaccine regulator Dr. Peter Marks was reportedly forced out, and FDA Center for Tobacco Products chief Brian King was let go.

Meanwhile, cuts to state funding are reportedly hitting the food supply. Food Safety Magazine said most FDA food safety inspections are not conducted directly by the FDA but through state grants, which are also being cut.

Turbulence in Testing & Transparency

These shifts introduce instability when it comes to overseeing the safety of the food supply. Transparency will become a casualty as workers who would provide information are let go.

This raises many questions regarding the actual impact on large portions, if not all, of our food supply.

The FDA doesn’t regulate all foods, but it does regulate dairy, produce, spices, nuts, cereals, flour, legumes, fruit and vegetable juices, vegetarian foods, dietary supplements, bottled water, food additives, and infant formulas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates meat, poultry, and eggs.

New Policies in Place

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), new policies, such as a return-to-office mandate and a plan to hire no more than one employee for every four let go, could potentially lead to more job losses.

“The FDA is in crisis,” according to JAMA. “The indiscriminate elimination of FDA staff, whether through firing, cessation of hiring, buyouts, or pushing people out, runs counter to the FDA’s many statutory obligations.”

Whether or not layoffs are “indiscriminate,” all sorts of workers have been caught in this net. Many staff who perform work needed to do reviews and inspections were reportedly laid off, such as “laboratory staff who test samples collected by frontline inspectors or informatics,” according to JAMA.

The AI Argument

The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said some workers can be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). “AI can improve efficiency,” according to JAMA. “[But] the technology cannot replace the work of the FDA’s expert staff.”

There may be an economic elephant in this room as well. About half of the FDA’s $7.2 billion budget comes not from taxes, but industry user fees, first authorized in 1992 through the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.

That means those staffers don’t cost taxpayers a penny. The idea is, in part, that the industry wants reviews done expeditiously, so they help fund the agency.

According to JAMA, “Dismissing employees who carry out user fee-funded work” will not save taxpayers money because they are paid through the industry. The journal notes that user-fee-funded workers have been laid off.

Vulnerabilities in Veterinary Medicine

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) said the HHS cuts affected more than 140 workers at the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and others working in the FDA’s Human Foods Program and Office of Inspections and Investigations.

AVMA President Dr. Sandra Faeh said she “supports efforts to thoughtfully improve government efficiency,” but “essential functions must be preserved.”

“The work done by our veterinarian colleagues in these offices is critical to the safe and effective practice of veterinary medicine,” she said, noting avian influenza among other concerns, “and, ultimately, the protection of animal and public health.”

Ensuring Vital Food Supply Surveillance

The FDA is charged with protecting infants from contaminants, such as lead and arsenic, in infant formula. Brian Ronholm, Consumer Reports’ Director of Food Policy, said that an FDA that “lacks the staffing and resources it needs to ensure our food is safe puts all of us at risk,” especially infants who are “vulnerable to toxic exposure.”

Between October 2023 and February 2024, more than 400 cases of child lead poisoning were reported by the CDC, which the FDA attributed to cinnamon sourced from an Ecuadorian supplier used in nationally distributed applesauce. Surveillance of the food supply is not simply academic, but a real requirement.

Only Time Will Tell

According to CBS, some actions have been taken to restore functions following the initial layoffs. The FDA reportedly told some scientists and inspection staff that their “layoffs will be reversed,” after the cuts disrupted drug and food safety work.

Around two dozen FDA inspectors’ support staff were reportedly told their layoffs would be walked back, after nearly 200 workers were cut.

The Federal News Network, meanwhile, reported the FDA planned to hire contractors to replace some employees. One thing is clear: whether or not the food supply is at risk, FDA workers may now fear their jobs are on the line, which could lead to even more departures.

“It’s been a hostile work environment,” one FDA employee reportedly told the Federal News Network. “You just feel demoralized.”

It’s probably worth watching how this drama and debate play out at the FDA. And at the same time, as the debate continues, watch what you eat!