Two Labs Closed. Five Remaining.
The FDA closed food testing laboratories in San Francisco and Chicago as part of the administration’s restructuring of federal agencies. The labs conducted routine and emergency testing of seafood, produce, and imported food products. Five labs remain.
2 of 7 FDA food testing labs closed. Seafood inspections delayed. The Center for Science in the Public Interest warned the food safety system is “teetering on collapse.” The last major recall took 3 weeks longer than standard response time.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest warned that the food safety system is “teetering on collapse.” With fewer labs, test results that previously took days now take weeks. The backlog affects both routine surveillance and emergency outbreak response.
What Slower Testing Means
When contaminated food reaches consumers, speed matters. The time between identifying a pathogen and issuing a recall determines how many people get sick. The last major food safety recall in early 2026 took approximately three weeks longer than the standard response timeline, according to public health advocates tracking FDA operations.
Seafood inspections have been particularly affected. The San Francisco lab handled a significant portion of West Coast imported seafood testing. Without it, samples must be shipped to remaining facilities, adding transit time to an already strained process.
The Broader Pattern
The FDA lab closures are part of the same workforce reduction that hit the IRS, NOAA, VA, and Social Security Administration. Across federal agencies, approximately 260,000 workers were fired or pushed out. The workers who left had a median tenure of 30 years. The ones who stayed had 10.
Food safety is not a partisan issue. Contaminated lettuce does not check voter registration. The question is whether five labs can do the work that seven were already struggling to handle.
What you can do now
- Call your U.S. senators and demand they block any further FDA lab closures in the next appropriations bill. Two of seven food testing labs are already closed, and the remaining five cannot handle the workload. The last major recall took three weeks longer than normal. Use Resist Bot to send a message.
- Contact your U.S. representative and ask them to request a GAO audit of FDA food safety response times since the lab closures. The Center for Science in the Public Interest warned the system is “teetering on collapse.” Congress needs data on how many inspections have been delayed and how long outbreak responses are taking.
- Ask your state attorney general whether your state has the capacity to fill the gap left by federal food safety cuts. The San Francisco lab handled a significant portion of West Coast imported seafood testing. States near closed labs are most affected. Find your AG at the AG finder.
- Tell your senators to oppose further federal workforce reductions at science agencies. Approximately 260,000 federal workers have been fired or pushed out across agencies. The workers who left had a median tenure of 30 years. Food safety expertise cannot be replaced by hiring someone with a relevant degree.
Update, July 25, 2026: Frank Yiannas, who served as FDA deputy commissioner for food policy from 2018 to 2023 under both the Trump and Biden administrations, said the federal response to the cyclospora outbreak has reached “a catastrophic level” of mismanagement. The outbreak has sickened more than 4,000 people, and the FDA has expanded its investigation to 7,400 potential cases across nine states, according to The Guardian.
The FDA identified lettuce from Taylor Farms, a supplier to Taco Bell, as linked to the outbreak, then walked back that identification. Taylor Farms said the FDA apologized to the company for the error; the FDA denied making any apology but continued to assert it holds strong evidence connecting Taylor Farms to the outbreak.
Yiannas called for an independent review of the federal response with congressional oversight or an independent inspector. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last week the outbreak was “under control,” and the FDA had not responded to Yiannas’s call for an investigation as of publication.
Update, July 27, 2026: A salmonella outbreak has spread across 17 states, running alongside a cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to produce that CDC officials began investigating on July 23. PBS NewsHour reported both outbreaks on July 27, with coverage by correspondents William Brangham and Karina Cuevas.
Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, told PBS NewsHour that back-to-back foodborne illness events are putting pressure on federal investigation capacity. Test results in the cyclosporiasis case have produced conflicting findings, extending the timeline before officials can issue a source determination or recall.
The FDA has not publicly identified a salmonella source as of this update. Both investigations remain active as the agency operates with the reduced laboratory network described in this brief.