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Impacts include dismantling a DOJ unit, withdrawal of a Biden-era effort, and mass layoffs that were only partially reversed.
By G. A. McNeeley
Photo: FDA lab tests seafood; public domain image via FDA
May 2, 2025 (Washington D.C.) — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unit that oversees the criminal and civil enforcement of food and drug safety regulations is being disbanded by President Donald Trump’s Administration, according to three individuals who are familiar with the issue, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is withdrawing a rule proposed back in August 2024 that aimed to help prevent food poisoning from poultry contaminated with salmonella, according to CBS News. The rollback increases the risk to public health, since the USDA has estimated that there are 125,000 salmonella infections from chicken and 43,000 salmonella infections from turkey every year, according to CBS News. San Diego County has had 184 cases of Salmonella so far this year, and 753 cases last year.
Also, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is bringing some of their recently fired employees back, according to KOCO News. Staffers were reportedly informed that about a third of the fired staff would be returning.
What To Know About Foodborne Illness
More Americans became sick from contaminated food in 2024, with the number of hospitalizations and deaths from foodborne illness doubling, compared to 2023, according to Newsweek.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that salmonella alone causes 1.35 million infections and about 420 deaths a year, according to CBS News.
Federal researchers listed salmonella as one of six pathogens that cause about 10 million cases of foodborne illnesses each year, and kill hundreds of Americans each year, according to CBS News.
The number of recalls from listeria, salmonella or E. coli significantly increased in 2024, and made up approximately 40 percent of all recalls for the FDA and the USDA, according to the Public Interest Research Groups.
This means that financial cuts to the FDA can have serious consequences for food and public safety if recalls are delayed, according to Newsweek.
If the FDA’s funding is affected by the Trump Administration, workers might not have the ability to travel or make sure different locations are following federal guidelines to prevent public safety hazards or foodborne illness.
Funding cuts could also prevent the FDA from making important recalls. Food recalls are typically prompted after companies and regulators implement testing and inspections, or if customers needed medical care after consuming specific food products.
Kevin Thompson, finance expert and founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek, "The cuts impact not just the FDA, but the government as a whole. Many fail to recognize that regulatory systems exist because capitalism has, at times, fallen short in protecting consumers. When that happens, the government steps in as a safeguard against corporate overreach."
DOJ Unit Is Being Dismantled
Approximately 215 people work for the Consumer Protection Branch, which is part of the DOJ’s Civil Division. This includes attorneys, support staff, and law enforcement agents.
The Consumer Protection Branch is a hybrid of criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement. It handles criminal cases that enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which makes it a crime to sell or distribute adulterated or misbranded food or drugs, according to Reuters. It also enforces statutes for the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The three individuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the plans for disbanding the Consumer Protection Branch, according to Reuters.
Two of them said that more than 100 attorneys who work in the unit were notified about the plans to break it up, Reuters reported.
The three individuals added that attorneys from the unit who handle criminal cases will be relocated to the department's Criminal Division, while the rest of the employees will remain in the Civil Division, according to Reuters. Some who primarily do legal defense for the FDA will be transferred to the Justice Department's federal programs branch, the sources said.
It remains unclear where the rest of their staff will be placed, according to two of them. The target date to finish these changes is September 30th, according to one of them.
Effort To Prevent Salmonella Gets Withdrawn
The Biden Administration effort, which was in development for three years, would have required poultry companies to keep salmonella bacteria levels low and to test for the presence of six different strains that are associated with illness.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Services said in an update that it was withdrawing the proposed rule to assess their approach for addressing salmonella and evaluate whether it should update current regulations.
Sandra Eskin, former USDA official who helped draft the plan, and Sarah Sorscher, Center for Science in the Public Interest, both criticized the withdrawal.
The withdrawal sends the message that the “Make America Healthy Again initiative does not care about the thousands of people who get sick from preventable foodborne salmonella infections linked to poultry," Eskin said in a statement, according to CBS News.
"Shipping more salmonella to restaurants and grocery stores is certain to make Americans sicker," Sorscher said, CBS reported.
However, the withdrawal was praised by the National Chicken Council, an industry trade group, who said the proposed rule was legally unsound, misinterpreted science that would have increased costs and created more food waste, all "with no meaningful impact on public health."
"We remain committed to further reducing salmonella and fully support food safety regulations and policies that are based on sound science," Ashley Peterson, their senior vice president of science and regulatory affairs, said, according to CBS News.
Some FDA Staff Are Being Reinstated
Food scientists who test samples for bacteria, and study potentially harmful chemicals, have been told they’ll get their jobs back, but haven’t received any official confirmation, according to KOCO News.
That same uncertainty is affecting employees who process agency records for lawyers, companies and journalists under the Freedom of Information Act, and nearly 100 of those staffers were eliminated, according to an unnamed agency official with direct knowledge of the situation.
In recent days the FDA missed multiple court-ordered deadlines to produce those documents, which might result in hefty fines. This prompted plans to bring back a significant number of those staffers, according to KOCO News.
The apparent reversals are the latest examples of the administration’s approach to agency cuts that shrunk the FDA’s workforce by about 20% (or about 3,500 jobs), in addition to an unspecified number of retirements, voluntary buyouts and resignations.
Dr. Marty Makary, FDA Commissioner, repeatedly said that FDA scientists weren’t fired as part of the reductions. However, at least two dozen food scientists who worked in a San Francisco testing laboratory, and a Chicago research center were let go, according to KOCO News.
An unnamed HHS spokesperson suggested the apparent mix-up was due to “outdated HR infrastructure we inherited from the Biden administration and are now actively overhauling.”
About 15 scientists working in FDA’s Division of Food Processing Science and Technology in Chicago were told they’d be reinstated, but there hasn’t been a written confirmation, and the scientists haven’t returned to the office, according to KOCO News.
The group’s research includes studying how to prevent harmful bacteria from growing on produce, and preventing the spread of microplastics (and other particles) from food packaging.
With more than 15,000 employees remaining across various U.S. and foreign offices, the FDA’s core responsibilities are reviewing new drugs, medical products, and food ingredients, as well as inspecting thousands of factories.
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/usda-withdraws-rule-salmonella-levels-raw-poultry/
https://www.koco.com/article/fda-reinstates-staff-after-layoffs/64644946
https://www.newsweek.com/fda-changes-raise-concerns-about-food-recalls-2026033
https://www.countynewscenter.com/county-investigating-salmonella-outbrea...
Comments
Dead animals shouldn't be eaten
Sigh...