Milk Safety, Health Risks As FDA Lowers Oversight

By Stacy M. Brown
Senior National Correspondent
BlackPressUSA.com

The Food and Drug Administration has suspended a key quality-control program for testing milk and other dairy products, citing a diminished workforce and lab capacity following sweeping federal cuts under President Donald Trump’s initiative to slash the government payroll.

An internal FDA email obtained by Reuters revealed that the agency has paused its proficiency testing program for “Grade A” milk – the highest sanitary standard for fluid milk products –  effective immediately.

The move comes on the heels of the shuttering of the FDA’s Moffett Center Proficiency Testing Laboratory, which had overseen food safety data analysis for dairy products nationwide. The suspension is the latest in a wave of disruptions to federal food safety systems, following the mass termination of 20,000 Department of Health and Human Services employees.

It also includes shelving programs that monitor avian flu in dairy and pathogens like Cyclospora, which pose risks to public health.

While an HHS spokesperson claimed the decommissioning of the lab had been planned before the Trump-imposed staffing cuts, the timing has raised red flags for food safety experts and civil rights advocates alike – particularly regarding the impact on Black communities, who already face elevated health risks and nutritional disparities.

A 2024 review published in the Journal of the National Medical Association concluded that Black adults continue to carry a disproportionate burden of chronic illnesses like obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. The review noted that one of the most consistent modifiable risk factors for improving health outcomes is better dietary quality – including increased dairy consumption.

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Dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt provide essential nutrients like calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and high-quality protein – nutrients that Black Americans are statistically less likely to consume in recommended amounts.

Yet barriers like lactose intolerance, food insecurity, and deep-rooted mistrust of healthcare systems have kept dairy consumption below national averages among Black adults.

In a 2024 brief titled “Fortifying Our Health: The Role of Dairy in Black Americans’ Diets,” the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) warned that long-standing myths about lactose intolerance and systemic misinformation have discouraged dairy intake in Black communities. The group emphasized that dairy – particularly fermented and lactose-free products like yogurt and hard cheese – can still be a viable option for many lactose-intolerant people.

Now, with the FDA’s testing program suspended, food safety advocates fear that inconsistent testing across dairy producers could lead to contamination risks that hit vulnerable populations hardest.