FDA falls far short of mandated foreign food safety inspections amid outbreak concerns

The Food and Drug Administration performed just under 1,000 foreign food safety inspections in 2025, a number that represents less than 10% of the statutory mandate calling for roughly 20 times that amount each year. A lettuce farm in Mexico tied to the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak had not been inspected for seven years, with the previous FDA visit occurring six years earlier following a 2013 outbreak. Over the past decade, about one-third of foreign inspections uncovered violations, and roughly 2% led to enforcement actions.

The agency attributes the gap to an “unrealistic” inspection target, limited budget growth, and staffing shortages, with only 432 inspectors in 2024 and a small fraction assigned to foreign facilities. Congressional leaders have called for more resources, noting that meeting the current mandate would cost hundreds of millions of dollars annually. While the FDA uses risk-based models and import screening algorithms, experts say the low inspection count reduces an important external check on food safety.