Budget-driven cutbacks have altered two federal pillars of U.S. food safety. The Food and Drug Administration has paused its proficiency-testing program for laboratories that certify Grade “A” milk, leaving states and processors without a federal benchmark for detecting pathogens and drug residues. At the same time, the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has withdrawn a rule that would have treated high-risk Salmonella strains in raw poultry as adulterants, ending the first major attempt in a decade to lower infection rates linked to chicken and turkey. The second Trump administration cites regulatory streamlining; industry groups welcome the moves. Public-health officials warn that raw-milk illnesses and multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains remain significant threats, especially as independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. campaigns to legalize interstate raw-milk sales. Absent federal backstops, states, processors and consumers must shoulder more responsibility for keeping milk and poultry safe.