General Discussion

Here are major steps taken by the Trump administration that experts consider to have reduced public safety regarding food-borne illnesses:

Slashed FDA staff and foreign food safety inspections: Massive cuts to FDA staffing led to the number of inspections of foreign food facilities reaching a historic low, increasing the risk of contaminated imported food entering the U.S. food supply. Current and former FDA officials, as well as food safety experts, directly blamed these staffing cuts for undermining food safety protections.​

Rolled back surveillance programs: The administration reduced the scope of FoodNet, the federal Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, which had monitored eight major food-borne pathogens, down to just two: salmonella and a common E. coli strain. This step resulted in less detection of outbreaks and hindered efforts to track sources of foodborne illness.​

Delayed or suspended key safety rules: Rules designed to help quickly identify and remove harmful products from the food system were delayed, and quality control programs to ensure the consistency of pathogen testing across 170 laboratories were suspended due to staffing and budget reductions.​

Disbanded scientific advisory committees: The administration shut down two critical food safety committees—the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and the Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (ACMPI)—cutting off scientific advice for the USDA and FDA on new threats, standards, and responses. Experts described this as reckless, since these panels issued independent recommendations for handling outbreaks such as listeria and improving inspection technology.​

Revoked standards of identity (SOI) for food products: Many longstanding regulations on the composition and manufacturing of foods were revoked or proposed for revocation, removing requirements that protected against adulteration or mislabeling, as part of the broader deregulatory agenda.​

Weakened GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) additive review: Experts warned that lax GRAS policies allow ingredients into the food supply without adequate independent review, and called for reform that was not undertaken under the administration.​

Blocked or delayed traceability regulations: Funding and implementation for new record-keeping standards—in particular, those meant to track sources of outbreaks and prevent contamination of produce—were repeatedly postponed, often after lobbying from industry groups.​

Reduced stronger salmonella standards for chicken: Regulatory rollbacks included rescinding stricter limits for allowable salmonella in poultry, despite ongoing public health concerns regarding chicken-borne infections.​

Collectively, food safety scientists and regulatory experts have stated these actions increased the risk of outbreaks and slowed response to contamination, undermining decades of incremental progress in protecting Americans from food-borne illnesses.