By Justin Walker
Communications Specialist
Although the government remains shutdown, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) resumes its inspections on high-risk food items.
FDA stopped inspections as a result of the shutdown in late December, but agency officials announced some employees returned to work on Tuesday, Jan. 15.
About 150 unpaid employees continue with routine inspections on high-risk foods, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. Such items include cheeses, produce and infant formula.
FDA is responsible for inspecting packaged food and produce, with risker foods accounting for about 2,800 inspections each year.
State agencies are responsible for conducting about half of all FDA inspections, Gottlieb said. Those have continued since the shutdown.
FDA also has continued inspecting imported foods, as well as monitoring for food poison outbreaks.
Facilities that handle high-risk foods are required to be inspected by FDA officials every three years, while facilities handling other food items are inspected every five years, Gottlieb said.
The shutdown raised concerns on food safety, especially with the romaine lettuce recall late last year. Officials said programs such as the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA) are not impacted by the shutdown. LGMA requires leafy green growers to follow science-based food safety protocols and have their farms inspected by government auditors.
Meat, poultry and processed eggs inspections fall under the authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those functions have also continued.