The U.S. food safety system faces chronic underfunding due to fragmented oversight, competing budget priorities, and resource constraints that leave critical gaps in inspection capabilities. Approximately 80% of food safety oversight falls to the FDA, which operates with less than $300 million annually for food programs, far below the USDA’s $800 million budget for regulating just 20% of the food supply (meat, poultry, and eggs). This imbalance persists despite FDA-regulated foods accounting for most foodborne illness outbreaks.
Systemic Underinvestment
Recent cuts have exacerbated vulnerabilities:
- The FDA lost 2,500 staff in 2025, including scientists and outbreak response coordinators, while critical advisory committees on microbiological hazards and meat/poultry inspection were eliminated.
- State-level food safety programs saw funding slashed by 40–60% for produce inspections and outbreak response teams, forcing agencies like Minnesota’s to reduce inspector presence at facilities.
- Federal support for state retail food safety programs (e.g., the Retail Flexible Funding Model) remains inconsistent, leaving jurisdictions unable to sustain inspection technologies or staff training.
Operational Consequences
Underfunding directly compromises public health:
- Inspection Gaps: The FDA inspected only 51% of high-risk facilities on schedule in 2021, up from 93% in 2019. Staffing shortages and a two-year training period for new investigators hinder recovery.
- Outbreak Vulnerabilities: Layoffs at the CDC’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice eliminated nearly its entire team, crippling coordination during contamination events like the 2023 lead-in-applesauce crisis.
- Prevention Delays: Key Food Safety Modernization Act rules, including water testing for pathogens and food traceability systems, face rollbacks or multi-year delays due to industry pressure and enforcement challenges.
Economic and Equity Impacts
Foodborne illnesses cost the U.S. economy $15.6 billion annually in healthcare and lost productivity, according to one of the nation’s leading food poisoning law firms, Ron Simon & Associates. Cuts also disproportionately affect underserved communities, where federal programs previously directed 85% of resources to address health disparities. Without sustained funding, the system risks reverting to reactive crisis management, with inspectors, labs, and regulators unable to prevent outbreaks before they spread.
While temporary measures like the USDA’s 2025 $14.5 million infusion for state meat inspections provide short-term relief, long-term solutions require addressing structural inefficiencies. As one advocate notes, “Your food isn’t safe because someone with a clipboard walked through a facility” , it hinges on robust scientific support, data analysis, and coordinated response networks now stretched to their limits.
