Kicking deadlines down the road over government shutdowns is much like those punt kicks in the NFL playoffs.  They don’t generally win the game, but the skill involved is appreciated.

Without another short-term deal; a partial federal government shutdown will commence at 12:01 a.m. Saturday for some government agencies. Government

Continue Reading A new agreement might avoid a partial government shutdown early on Saturday
Opinion

If you had a nickel for every study recommending consolidation of all federal food safety agencies into a single independent entity, you would have a lot of nickels.

Think tanks and academic studies, and legislative auditors and White House staffs have all come to that conclusion. I think of
Continue Reading Letter From The Editor: Food safety’s haphazard structure may have helped during shutdown

ALERT: A USDA spokesperson told Food Safety News the agency is not staffing its phones dedicated to consumer complaints about meat, poultry and processed egg products during the partial government shutdown. The askkaren.gov service is operating online, but USDA responses might be delayed.

The head of the Food and
Continue Reading ALERT: U.S. representative, advocates say food safety programs dangerously disrupted

Pundits and politicians say there’s no quick end in sight to the partial shutdown of the federal government as signs of the practical impact of the impasse continue to pile up.

Crucial functions that involve immediate threats to public safety are continuing even though many of the employees who perform
Continue Reading FDA’s warning letters appear to drop off as budget/wall battle continues in D.C.

Opinion

Tomorrow some of the fuzzy math related to the government’s operational status will come into clear focus for many so called non-essential federal employees when they don’t get paid.

Nuances of federal funding mean some administrators and employees have been and will continue to work and will continue to
Continue Reading Beach Beat: Is food safety essential to public safety? Good question

Here’s the situation regarding food safety on Day 13 of the partial government shutdown: As yet, there are no worries.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are operating because their budgets went through the regular appropriations process. Also, there are the about 2,700 state and local health departments
Continue Reading Crucial federal food safety inspections, recalls, investigations continue despite partial shutdown of government