Milk Safety Testing In Texas Has Been Halted

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the government agency that helps make sure our food and drinks are safe. One of the things they normally test is milk, checking to make sure it’s clean and meets the highest safety standards. But now, the FDA has temporarily stopped part of that testing.

Most milk still goes through basic safety checks. However, one of the key programs that helps make sure the highest quality milk is safe to drink has been put on hold. That’s raising serious concerns.

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Why Did This Happen?

The milk testing program had to stop because the lab in charge no longer has enough staff. The Moffett Center Proficiency Testing Lab lost too many scientists and workers, which means it can’t run the tests or review the results.

This happened after major job cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the FDA. So far, around 20,000 jobs have been eliminated. These cuts are part of a plan pushed by President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January.

Soon after his inauguration, Trump created a new agency called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and put tech billionaire Elon Musk in charge. Musk has no experience running public health programs, and it shows. The goal of DOGE is to cut government spending, but the way it’s being done has already led to serious consequences. Instead of finding smarter ways to improve how government works, Musk and his team have made sweeping cuts with little understanding of how critical some of these programs actually are.

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What Else Is Affected?

It’s not just milk safety at risk. Another program, the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN), has also had to pause some of its testing because of staffing shortages.

FERN helps spot dangerous foodborne threats like parasites in leafy greens or harmful chemicals in grains. It works with about 170 labs across the country to make sure they’re prepared for emergencies. But now, important positions like chemists and microbiologists have been eliminated. Without those experts, the program has been forced to suspend quality control work until at least the end of September.

Internal emails from the FDA say that these testing exercises are crucial for proving that labs can respond quickly if something goes wrong in the food supply. Without them, the whole system becomes more fragile.

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What Could This Mean for Texas?

Texas is now the third-largest milk-producing state in the country. That means we make a lot of milk, more than almost any other state. Most of it comes from farms in the Texas Panhandle, and more dairy plants are being built to make cheese and other milk products. As our state makes more milk, keeping it safe becomes even more important.

With the FDA stopping its milk testing program, Texas could be affected in a big way. Our milk is sent to stores, schools, and even other countries. If that milk isn’t being checked as carefully as before, there’s a bigger chance something could go wrong, like spoiled or unsafe milk making it into people’s homes or school lunches.

Texas also sells milk to other countries, especially Mexico. If people stop trusting that our milk is safe, it could hurt Texas businesses and farmers who rely on those sales.

In short, what’s happening in Washington, D.C., could directly affect kids, families, and farmers here in Texas. Making sure our milk is safe should be a priority for everyone.

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What Happens Now?

The FDA says it is looking at other options and hopes to restart the testing program eventually, but no one knows when that will happen. For now, the program is shut down.

Milk is still being checked in other ways, but without this specific testing system, one of the most reliable safety tools is missing. And if the budget cuts continue, there’s real concern that more food safety programs could be affected next.

For a country that prides itself on high food standards, this isn’t just a small policy change. It’s a warning sign that essential protections are being removed by people who don’t seem to fully understand their importance.