A key element of the United States’ food safety infrastructure has been placed on hold following internal changes at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The agency has announced the suspension of its national milk testing program, raising concerns about the consistency of sanitary standards across the dairy industry.The move comes amid widespread workforce reductions within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under which the FDA operates.
The decision to pause testing is directly linked to the closure of a laboratory central to the agency’s operations, marking a significant disruption in how dairy safety is monitored and enforced across the country.
FDA Halts Milk Testing Program as Lab Support Ends
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended its proficiency testing program for Grade “A” raw milk and finished dairy products, citing a loss of capacity at its internal laboratory.
The decision, announced via an internal email and reported by Reuters, is linked to the closure of the Moffett Center Proficiency Testing Laboratory, which formerly conducted the agency’s quality control operations for dairy safety.
The lab’s closure follows significant reductions in staffing across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)—the parent body of the FDA—where an estimated 20,000 employees have been dismissed or resigned since President Donald Trump initiated a federal downsizing agenda.
According to the email, the FDA’s Division of Dairy Safety stated that the Moffett facility was “no longer able to provide laboratory support for proficiency testing and data analysis”.
This testing program, which had ensured that milk products met high sanitary standards and that laboratories across the country remained consistent in their methods and results, is now on indefinite hold.
The FDA is reportedly reviewing “alternative approaches” for the next fiscal year and has pledged to inform affected laboratories of any future updates, according to the same internal communication.
Suspension Adds Pressure to US Food Safety Infrastructure
The pause in dairy quality testing is one of several setbacks in recent weeks to the United States’ food safety apparatus. Earlier this month, the FDA also suspended programs monitoring avian flu in dairy products and detecting pathogens such as Cyclospora, a parasite known to contaminate various foods including leafy greens.
The halted milk testing program is part of the FDA’s broader Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), which supports around 170 laboratories in maintaining standards for food safety and rapid response.
An additional email from the FERN National Program Office, dated 16 April and also cited by Reuters, confirmed that the network’s proficiency testing would also be paused through at least the end of September.
An HHS spokesperson noted that the Moffett lab was already due for decommissioning, but admitted that the staff reductions hastened the closure. Although dairy product testing will reportedly continue in some capacity, the lack of national proficiency testing may hinder laboratory accreditation processes and compromise the uniformity of safety protocols.
The Trump administration has proposed a $40 billion reduction in the HHS budget. This is part of a restructuring drive intended to increase federal efficiency, though critics argue it places strain on essential regulatory functions.
