TAMPA, Fla. — High-risk food inspections are resuming Tuesday as hundreds of Food and Drug Administration employees return to work.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced the news on Twitter, saying that hundreds of employees would return to work -- without pay -- to complete these important inspections.
The FDA inspection staff normally totals 5,000 people; Gottlieb told 10News on Twitter that 400 employees would be returning to work, 150 of which would be dedicated to food inspections.
High-risk food typically includes items like seafood, soft cheeses and other dairy products.
The FDA also provides assistance when it comes to certain milk products. The federal administration works with state regulators to provide technical assistance to help with the implementation and enforcement of milk regulations.
Just last week, local dairy, egg, and honey farm South Tampa Farm, saw a Department of Agriculture state regulator.
Owner and head farmer, Marion Lambert said, "We had the agricultural people, the agricultural division of consumer services come down here about a week ago to make sure that we had everything labeled properly for pet consumption only so we can continue selling milk, and eggs and anything else.”
It’s for larger facilities and internationally imported food that see FDA regulators directly.
So what about those inspections that should have occurred between Dec. 22 and now? Gottlieb said on Twitter that no inspections were scheduled, so no inspections were missed
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