Haley Bogdon - FDA to resume food safety inspections Tuesday

This article is about the impacts of the government shutdown on the FDA and employees.  As some of the FDA inspections were on hold, the author noted that the inspections of food facilities will begin again on Tuesday using unpaid employees.  Hundreds of employees have agreed to come to work and being their inspections that had stopped on Dec. 22 when the government was shut down.  They will be starting with high risk food products such as cheese and dairy products and some produce.  Baked goods are considered to be lower risk products, so these will not be the focus.  The FDA has roughly 5,000 food inspectors and only 700 have agreed to return to work.  I think this article helps to show just one group of governmental employees who are impacted by the shutdown of the government and how their missing work can impact all people.  By not having proper food inspections, all Americans are at risk of eating food that is not up to the required standards and could cause people to get sick.  I also feel that it is very admirable that people are returning to work while not being paid and not really knowing when their pay will return.  Some of these people likely do not know how they will be able to pay their bills and are under a lot of stress worrying about their financial situations.  I hope that President Trump and Congress will work together to find a quick solution and will recognize the efforts of employees like these food inspectors who are willing to come in and do their jobs without any guarantee of a paycheck.




https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-resume-food-safety-inspections-tuesday-n958631