By Hector Gutierrez

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The Food and Drug Administration decided Friday that it will not close seven field laboratories, including one in Denver. The FDA had planned for some time to shut down seven labs as part of a consolidation plan to reduce expenses and modernize its lab network.

FDA regulatory affairs chief Margaret Glavin said the reorganization plan was canceled, in part to provide a "fresh look" at the challenges facing her office and its plans for addressing them. Under the original plan, more than 50 scientists and other personnel at the Denver District Laboratory in the Federal Center in Lakewood would have been relocated to "mega labs" in five other cities.

But congressional representatives from the states where the labs operate protested the plan, saying it would weaken the country's ability to oversee food safety. Colorado's federal lawmakers wrote letters to the FDA, asking the agency to reconsider.

"It is about time the administration recognized the importance of these labs and the unique role they serve in our national security," Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette said Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report