May 2025 - Public Health Update [Legacy Content]

HEALTH 

(Public health, Occupational Health, Food Safety, Recalls)

RFK Jr.’s tenure as Secretary of Health and Human Services has seen a significant shift in priorities for the department under his supervision. Apart from the direct cuts to research funding and changes to research priorities, the FDA is ending or significantly reducing the scope of food safety monitoring and testing programs due to reduced capacity.

It has been widely reported that these changes will impact milk and dairy, but testing for other foods such as spinach (vulnerable to parasites) and barley (at risk of carrying pesticides) are also coming to a halt.

This was framed as a temporary pause set to end on 30 September with the fiscal year, but the proposed cuts to domestic spending for the 2026  federal budget could make this pause permanent.

Separately, the USDA has also withdrawn plans to implement limits on the amount of salmonella present in raw poultry.

Some state regulators, including the Department of Agriculture in Pennsylvania, have affirmed that their food inspection programs receive independent funding, and  are capable of filling in any gaps caused by lack of funding and personnel at the FDA.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

• Find out how your local Department of Health handles food safety testing, and where they might fill some of the gaps left by the FDA

• Avoid unpasteurized or undercooked foods (raw milk, sushi). 

• If you rely on any high risk foods that will be impacted by these changes:

  • Buy what you can for long term storage in your pantry or freezer

  •  Look for safe alternatives (milk powders, plant based milks, etc.

SOCIAL MEDIA SPOTLIGHT 

Reddit / AmazonFBA - “174% tariff applied on a $47,000 shipment”

Reddit / Aliexpress (Order Estimate That Includes Tariffs) - “This is Insane”

08 May 2025 LOHSS Report.pdf

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