Government Shutdown Affects Food Safety: HHS Furloughs Employees, FDA Pauses CORE Investigation Table
In light of the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is pausing updates to its Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) Investigation Table, which summarizes ongoing and closed foodborne illness outbreak investigations. (UPDATE: On October 3, FDA issued a statement saying that it will continue to regularly update the CORE Investigation Table).
The agency will only continue detecting and responding to public health emergencies, managing recalls, mitigating drug shortages, responding to foodborne illness and infectious disease outbreaks, and conducting surveillance of adverse events, per an FDA X post.
The decision to stop updating the CORE table was made due to the absence of either a Fiscal Year 2026 appropriation or a Continuing Resolution, which has resulted in a federal government shutdown. While FDA will continue to conduct foodborne outbreak surveillance and response activities, the CORE Investigation Table will not be updated weekly during the shutdown.
FDA will continue to issue public health advisories if there is actionable information to protect consumers from foodborne illness.
Additionally, according to an HHS Fiscal Year 2026 contingency plan, 41 percent of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) workforce—totaling 32,460 employees—are set to be furloughed during the shutdown.
There is also the possibility of some furloughs becoming permanent terminations. At an October 1 White House press briefing, Vice President J.D. Vance said the administration will “have to lay off some people if the shutdown continues.”
In response to the shutdown, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) issued a statement urging Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement as soon as possible, so that the federal government can resume operations.
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“Government shutdowns can threaten food safety efforts operated through FDA’s Human Foods Program, reducing the program to only emergency inspections,” said CSPI Director of Legislative Affairs, Philip Kahn-Pauli. “Staff furloughs can also halt or delay longer-term work to reduce chronic, diet-related diseases; review food chemical safety; and prevent foodborne illness.
Update, October 3, 2025: FDA has issued a statement saying that the CORE Investigation Table will continue to be regularly updated. FDA’s activities with respect to conducting foodborne outbreak surveillance and response activities remain uninterrupted. FDA will continue to provide weekly updates and issue public warnings if there is actionable information to protect consumers from foodborne illness.
