"The FDA plans as soon as Tuesday to restart food safety inspections at facilities that handle riskier products like fresh-cut produce, as the partial government shutdown extends into its fourth week, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Monday.
Under the agency's initial shutdown plan, most routine food safety inspections were halted. Staff who were excepted from the shutdown have been working without pay to keep a number of high-priority functions running. Examples of activities being handled by unpaid workers include active investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks, dangerous recalls, import screening and safety inspections of foods imported from overseas.
Inspections of food facilities that handle riskier products, such as seafood and soft cheeses, are considered routine and were initially halted under FDA's plan. That sparked concern among food safety advocates that the shutdown could be putting food safety at risk."
Helena Bottemiller Evich reports for Politico January 14, 2019.
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