In a move to minimize the impact of the shutdown, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tweeted the agency is "taking steps" to expand domestic food safety inspections during the shutdown, especially for high-risk facilities that make up a third of regular inspections.
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THREAD: Food Safety During Shutdown: We’re taking steps to expand the scope of food safety surveillance inspections we’re doing during the shutdown to make sure we continue inspecting high risk food facilities. 31% of our inventory of domestic inspections are considered high risk
— Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) January 9, 2019
The FDA conducts about 8,400 routine inspections of facilities that produce food every year. Gottlieb tweeted that a few dozen may have been missed because of the shutdown.
We should have the mechanisms in place next week. I'm getting the total number of inspections, out of the 8,400 we do each year, that were postponed this week. It may be a few dozen but not much more. So reporting we "stopped" really means reporting we didn't do 20+/8,400 on time
— Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) January 10, 2019
Ordinarily we might have done a few dozen this week, fewer than typical given it was the first week in January, out of the total of 8,400 food inspections we do each year. So it’s true some inspections were postponed that would have been scheduled. They should resume next week.
— Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) January 10, 2019
A third of FDA's routine inspections are of high-risk facilities that work with products like fresh fruits and veggies, seafood, dairy products, prepared foods, infant formula, and medical foods. They expect to restart some of those inspections next week.
Routine inspections of lower-risk facilities that work with products like baked goods will still be suspended, though that will not impact inspections that are for cause or as part of a larger outbreak investigation.
- YORUMLAR