WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is stopping a quality control program that tests milk and other dairy products because its food safety and nutrition team has fewer staff, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

This is the latest problem for the country's food safety system after about 20,000 employees from the Department of Health and Human Services (which includes the FDA) left or were let go under President Donald Trump's plan to reduce the size of the federal workforce.

Earlier this month, the FDA also stopped other programs that checked for bird flu in milk and cheese and for harmful parasites like Cyclospora in food.

Starting this week, the FDA paused its testing program for Grade "A" raw milk and finished dairy products, which are considered to meet the highest sanitary standards. The email from the FDA's Division of Dairy Safety said the testing lab, called the Moffett Center, can no longer support the program due to staffing issues.

A spokesperson for the health department said the lab was already going to be shut down, and while the quality testing is paused, other dairy testing will continue.

The Trump administration has proposed cutting US$40 billion from the FDA's budget.

The FDA's testing programs help make sure food safety labs across the country get consistent and accurate results. These tests are also crucial for labs to stay certified.

The FDA said it is investigating new ways to handle testing in the next budget year and will update labs with more information.