FOOD SAFETYA Summer of Recalls Exposes Holes in the Nation’s Food Safety Net
A summer of food recalls has focused attention on the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding and staff at several public health agencies that track foodborne illnesses, and prompted questions about whether those changes have made consumers more vulnerable.
Jalapenos. Frozen berries. Beef. Alfalfa sprouts.
A summer of food recalls, including the record-shattering cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands, has raised many Americans’ fears of contracting a foodborne illness.
The recalls have focused attention on the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding and staff at several public health agencies, and prompted questions about whether those changes have made consumers more vulnerable.
In fact, this year’s tally of food recalls is roughly in line with the numbers in recent years. About 48 million people each year get sick from a foodborne illness. But experts worry that the scope, severity and scale of outbreaks and their associated food recalls are growing.
While the United States sees some cyclosporiasis cases every year, this year’s outbreak has crushed records: Since May, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed more than 17,000 cases, with another nearly 12,000 reported cases still under investigation. The outbreak has resulted in at least 922 hospitalizations and two deaths.
Federal officials have blamed this year’s multistate outbreak on processed iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. The lettuce was brought to the U.S. by Taylor Farms, a distributor that supplies foods to thousands of restaurants and grocery stores, including Target, Taco Bell, Whole Foods, Kroger, Walmart, Costco and Jack in the Box.
The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration are investigating at least six other clusters for which a source hasn’t yet been confirmed.
Cuts at the CDC and FDA haven’t necessarily increased consumers’ chances of food contamination or outbreaks, said Jennifer McEntire, a food microbiologist and the founder of a food safety consulting firm. However, McIntire said, “I do think the cuts may have influenced the way outbreaks unfold.”
“I think there are valid questions around the timing of the response, the time it took for agencies to recognize the outbreak and to start to investigate it, get boots on the ground in Mexico,” she said.
