During an EPA or FDA testing facility inspection, the technical staff is advised to:

• A. Provide full detailed responses to every question
• B. Respond briefly to any direct questions asked of them, or state they do not know the answer to the question
• C. Decline to answer questions
• D. Ask the inspector to review the data before answering

Answer: (B)

During regulatory inspections, the best practice is to answer direct questions succinctly and honestly. If you know the answer, provide it clearly and briefly. If you don’t know, state that you don’t know and offer to check the records or obtain the correct information and follow up with a precise response. This keeps information accurate and helps maintain credibility with the inspectors.

Providing full, detailed responses to every question can lead to sharing unnecessary or unverified information, and guessing or supplying data without verification risks misstatements. Delaying answers by asking the inspector to review data first slows the process and isn’t the appropriate approach for straightforward inquiries.