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Senior leaders at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are preparing for reductions in routine inspections of food and pharmaceuticals, as indicated by multiple officials, following significant layoffs among the agency’s support staff.
Approximately 170 employees were let go from the FDA’s Office of Inspections and Investigations, according to two federal health officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that layoffs implemented by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. affected approximately 10,000 workers across the department, but emphasized that this would not directly impact the FDA’s core inspection teams. However, discussions among federal health officials suggest that remaining FDA leaders are grappling with the consequences of losing critical administrative and support personnel, which has led to delays and operational challenges for the agency’s inspectors.
An HHS spokesperson commented, “These administrative functions are being streamlined as part of HHS’ transformation initiative to enhance the agency’s efficiency and responsiveness. FDA inspectors remain unaffected, and this crucial work will persist.”
In light of these staffing changes, the inspections and investigations office will need to collaborate with the FDA’s centers overseeing drugs, medical devices, and food to reassess their priorities for the remainder of the year. As a result, routine “surveillance inspections” may be reduced in favor of more urgent inspections, such as those addressing safety concerns raised about specific firms or follow-up visits to ensure compliance with previous violations.
One of the most immediate effects of the cuts will be on the travel operations division within the inspections office. Previously, this division managed various aspects of travel, including flight arrangements and coordination with the State Department for necessary translators for international inspections.
As one FDA official remarked, “Effective immediately, front-line investigators will spend considerable time managing their travel and administrative tasks, diverting attention away from critical inspections that protect American consumers.”
Additionally, a pilot program for unannounced inspections abroad has been temporarily halted due to staffing reductions, which included personnel responsible for securing translators in various countries quickly.
The FDA has long faced challenges in achieving its inspection goals, a situation exacerbated by the backlog experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. A January Government Accountability Office report indicated that the FDA was behind schedule on numerous food safety inspections, struggling with recruitment and retention of qualified inspectors.
While inspections are still being conducted, several FDA officials noted that recent budget cuts are likely to exacerbate existing delays, which have already been complicated by previous spending reduction initiatives from the Trump administration.
For instance, field operations are currently hindered by a new government-wide $1 limit on purchasing cards, necessitating a cumbersome approval process for expenditures exceeding that amount. Consequently, inspectors have been instructed to plan inspections one month in advance due to the delays imposed by this spending limitation.
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