Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 1/28/19

Federal inspections of processed foods, over-the-counter drugs, pet food and other consumer goods can resume now that the government is open. The FDA, which regulates products accounting for almost one-quarter of every dollar consumers spend, had halted inspections of so-called low risk goods ranging from cereal and flour to common cold medicines.

Such goods are less likely to be contaminated, but experts said that not visiting some 60,000 facilities manufacturing low-risk products for a prolonged period of time would make it increasingly likely that FDA wouldn't be able to take action to prevent the public from suffering harm, POLITICO's Sarah Karlin-Smith and Catherine Boudreau report.

The risk, in context: Officials urged people not to be alarmed about the halt in inspections, because the pre-shutdown pace was already slow. These facilities are only required to be visited once every five years, and FDA said some of the work is contracted out to state health and agriculture departments (though the agency didn't comment on whether the shutdown affected this arrangement).

About 160 routine food inspections are conducted during a normal week, two-thirds of which target low-risk facilities, Gottlieb said previously. The rest are inspections of high-risk food facilities — think seafood, fresh-cut produce or soft cheeses — which the agency had already resumed during the funding lapse.

Potential threat: FDA and experts acknowledged there is still potential for outbreaks. "While we're doing our best to prioritize our work, history shows that sometimes foods that have not been linked to foodborne outbreaks previously or are considered to be of lower risk, can be linked to outbreaks (i.e. flour, caramel apples, cereals and others)," FDA spokeswoman Kathleen Quinn said in e-mail.