The current administration under President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made executive decisions to reduce the scope of the Food and Drug Administration's operations. Reports suggest that among these changes, the FDA is halting inspections vital for ensuring national food safety, alongside broader staff reductions at the Health and Human Services department. This includes suspending a quality control program for testing fluid milk and other dairy products due to diminished capacity within its food safety division. Historically, federal agencies like the FDA and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service have ensured consumer trust in food safety. However, this recent move raises concerns about reverting to an era when local and fragmented regulations were insufficient.
In the mid-1800s, the dairy industry began selling what was known as "swill milk" to urban consumers. This milk came from city-based cows fed on mash and leftovers from nearby distilleries and breweries. Local reformers campaigned against this practice, fearing the low-grade grains used in the feed. By the 1920s, milk had gained a dangerous reputation for spreading diseases such as dysentery, typhoid fever, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and bovine tuberculosis. Scientists expressed concern over milk's potential as a disease carrier, prompting the creation of a cooperative program by Alabama's state Board of Health and the public health service. This led to the development of a unified inspection system incorporating grading standards like Grade 'A' and regulating raw milk.
The White House justifies reducing federal oversight by suggesting states will compensate and manage their consumer markets. Yet, history demonstrates that a patchwork of ad hoc state and local regulations proved ineffective in ensuring milk safety. In 1938, before the full implementation of a national inspection system, milk accounted for 25% of all foodborne disease outbreaks. Over three decades, including during wartime periods, the dairy inspection system gradually improved, reducing this percentage to 2.5% by 1965. That year marked the formal unification of milk inspection standards at the federal level.
Milk regulations consolidated federal efforts to safeguard consumers, with the CDC setting ordinances, the FDA testing for residues and establishing ingredient standards, the USDA regulating agricultural chemical uses, and the EPA cleaning up environmental pollutants. An example of inter-agency cooperation involved the feed additive DES, approved by the USDA for enhancing cattle growth but later found carcinogenic. By the end of the 1970s, the FDA banned DES due to health risks, showcasing Congress's empowerment of the FDA to regulate ingredients.
History underscores the necessity of federal institutions in maintaining food safety. These agencies provide Americans with significant influence over what they consume, addressing producers' past negligence in contaminating food. Lawmakers established these entities to protect every American through federal power, wielding tools like research coordination, standardized testing, recalls, lawsuits, and awareness campaigns. The future impact of these regulatory bodies remains uncertain; however, our health fundamentally depends on their continued authority or potential recreation.