The Food and Drug Administration has temporarily suspended its proficiency testing of milk and other dairy products due to major staffing reductions. The move is a result of recent cutbacks by the Department of Health and Human Services, which eliminated around 20,000 jobs through attrition, buyouts, and layoffs. The decision affects operations at the FDA’s Moffett Center Proficiency Testing Laboratory, which the agency says is no longer able to support testing and data analysis. The suspension comes shortly after the FDA also halted testing for bird flu in dairy products, raising further concerns about oversight gaps in food safety. While this testing pause is described as temporary, there is currently no set timeline for when it will resume. The agency plans to transfer the responsibilities to another lab, but the transition remains in progress. Despite the halt in proficiency testing, the FDA emphasized that food safety monitoring continues. State and federal laboratories are still actively testing food samples, and the FDA says it remains committed to working with states to protect the safety of the pasteurized milk supply. This move is part of a broader round of belt-tightening measures within the FDA as it adjusts to workforce reductions.