The FDA Isn't Inspecting Food During The Government Shutdown

E-coli outbreaks crop up every now and then. Some are more widespread then others, but if they're related to food and especially if that food may have crossed state lines, the FDA starts tracing to find the source. If foodborne bacteria cause an outbreak in the U.S. today, though, the FDA won't do anything. Because the FDA is closed.
FDA food safety inspectors are furloughed right now and have been all week. Which, as Quartz explains, is problematic because, in addition to finding the source of outbreaks, the FDA also monitors 80 percent of all U.S. food and especially imports. And don't think for a second that the food safety inspectors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aren't on Furlough too, because they are.
Fruits, vegetables, seafood and and basically anything else that comes through US customs isn't being safety checked by the FDA right now. And the agency has a pretty extensive system of "red alerts" to keep track of companies and shipment sources with a bad track record, but no one is referring to that information right now. So if you're one of the tens of thousands of vendors on FDA "red alert," for anything from excrement-ladened produce to dietary supplements also containing mad cow disease, this is your chance to sell to the U.S.. Got lead-ladened candy? Come on in!