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No—the FDA did not stop all milk testing. On April 21, 2025, it paused a specific quality-control service: proficiency testing for laboratories analyzing Grade “A” raw milk and finished dairy products. Reuters reported that an HHS spokesperson said routine dairy product testing would continue. The pause concerned how laboratories’ performance was checked, not a blanket halt to testing milk sold or produced in the United States.
What milk testing did the FDA suspend?
Effective April 21, 2025, FDA’s Moffett Center Proficiency Testing Laboratory stopped providing proficiency testing and related data analysis for Grade “A” raw milk and finished products, according to Reuters’ April 21 report. Proficiency testing is a quality-control exercise: participating laboratories analyze samples so their accuracy and consistency can be assessed. Such checks help support consistency across the food-safety laboratory network and are relied on for accreditation.
That is distinct from routine regulatory or product testing, in which samples of milk or dairy products are tested as part of broader oversight. The HHS spokesperson quoted by Reuters said dairy product testing would continue. The International Dairy Foods Association also said routine Grade “A” milk and finished-product testing frequency was unchanged; that is an industry association’s statement, not an FDA finding.
| Activity | What it does | What was reported about the April 2025 pause |
|---|---|---|
| Laboratory proficiency testing | Checks whether laboratories can analyze samples accurately and consistently. | FDA paused its service for Grade “A” raw milk and finished products, effective April 21, 2025. |
| Routine dairy product testing | Tests milk or dairy samples as part of wider oversight. | An HHS spokesperson told Reuters it would continue; IDFA separately said routine testing frequency was unchanged. |
Why did the pause happen, and how much was it tied to staff cuts?
Reuters reported that FDA said the Moffett Center laboratory was “no longer able to provide laboratory support for proficiency testing and data analysis.” Reduced capacity in FDA’s food safety and nutrition division was reported as context. But the HHS spokesperson also said the laboratory had already been slated for decommissioning before staff cuts. The available account therefore supports saying that capacity and workforce cuts were part of the reported context—not that staff cuts alone caused the pause.
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Is store-bought milk still tested?
The pause is not evidence that store-bought milk stopped being tested. The HHS spokesperson told Reuters that dairy product testing would continue during the proficiency-testing pause. FDA’s broader milk-safety framework also includes federal-state laboratory oversight: its 2025 Evaluation of Milk Laboratories describes official and officially designated laboratories, state central milk laboratories, and evaluations that review records, training, split-sample performance, facilities, equipment, materials, and procedures. FDA’s Milk Safety Programs Contacts page, marked April 2026, lists a Grade “A” Milk Safety Program and a Laboratory Proficiency and Evaluation Team; the Interstate Milk Shippers directory lists approved laboratories and procedures.
These records show continuing milk-safety and laboratory oversight structures. They do not establish that the particular Moffett Center proficiency-testing service paused in 2025 has resumed or been replaced.
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Has the FDA’s milk testing pause ended?
FDA’s public materials cited above do not answer whether that specific proficiency-testing service resumed. Reuters reported in April 2025 that FDA had said in an email it was “actively evaluating alternative approaches for the upcoming fiscal year” and would keep participating laboratories informed. That was a statement about plans at the time, not confirmation of what happened afterward. A Washington Post report published April 23, 2025 said FDA described a transfer to another FDA lab as actively underway, but it likewise does not establish the outcome.
For a current operational answer, laboratories should seek an update directly from FDA’s Laboratory Proficiency and Evaluation Team. The existence of that team or other FDA laboratory programs is not proof that the paused service is operating.
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Does the pause mean milk is unsafe?
No conclusion about the safety of a particular milk product follows from the proficiency-testing pause alone. The pause was about one laboratory quality-control service, not a reported finding that retail milk was contaminated. It should also be kept separate from FDA’s H5N1 work in 2024.
In a May 10, 2024 update, FDA said all 297 retail dairy samples in a described study tested negative for viable HPAI H5N1 virus and that additional sampling and surveillance would continue. That dated, virus-specific sampling result was not a test of every milk product and says nothing about whether the 2025 proficiency program continued.
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- 【No More Pumping and Dumping】: Before nursing, make sure alcohol is no longer passing through your breast milk. These easy-to-use alcohol test strips for breast milk allow you peace of mind, avoiding unnecessary and time-consuming pumping and discarding precious breast milk.
- 【User-Friendly】: Simply dip and read breastmilk alcohol testing strips! You can enjoy an occasional cocktail and have complete confidence in knowing when it's safe to feed your baby again. Each strip is individually packaged for convenience.
- 【Exceptional Customer Service】: We provide excellent post-purchase support. If you encounter any issues while using the product, please don't hesitate to contact us, and we'll provide you with a suitable solution until your problem is resolved.
Separately, in a June 6, 2024 letter to state regulators, FDA said evidence showed that infected cattle shed HPAI H5N1 virus in milk and that raw milk from infected herds could contain infectious virus. FDA recommended state surveillance and coordination. The letter addressed raw milk and H5N1, not the later laboratory-service pause; its warning should not be read as evidence that the pause itself demonstrated contamination of retail milk.
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What the pause means for readers
- The pause began April 21, 2025, and covered FDA proficiency testing for Grade “A” raw milk and finished dairy products.
- Proficiency testing checks laboratory performance; it is not the same as routine testing of dairy products.
- An HHS spokesperson told Reuters routine dairy product testing would continue, while IDFA separately said routine testing frequency was unchanged.
- FDA’s published records document broader milk-safety and laboratory oversight work, but do not establish whether this particular service resumed.
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