Weakened policies, reduced funding preceded cyclosporiasis outbreak
by Joe Fisher · UPIJuly 27 (UPI) -- Before the outbreak of cyclosporiasis, the Food and Drug Administration delayed the enforcement of a policy designed to improve the process of tracking and removing potentially contaminated foods, including iceberg lettuce.
The FDA announced on March 20 that it is extending the Food Traceability Final Rule by 30 months. The policy was originally supposed to take effect on Jan. 20.
The FDA described the rule as allowing "for faster identification and removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and deaths."
Due to funding cuts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention terminated the Foodborne Disease Active Surveillance Network program. This program was used to track foodborne illnesses, supporting state and local food safety programs.
The FoodNet program was a joint effort between the CDC, FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was used to track infections from eight pathogens, including Cyclospora, salmonella and E. coli.
In July 2025, the federal government made FoodNet tracking optional. Before the change, surveillance of the eight identified pathogens, including cyclospora, was mandatory.
Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told UPI that the multiple decisions at the federal level to cut funding, research and tracking capabilities has made responding to outbreaks such as this more challenging.
"Right now we still don't have great methods for genetic testing to determine related strains of cyclospora," Sorscher said. "This means it's harder to tell when two people got sick from eating cyclospora from the same source."
Another aspect of the Trump administration's policies affecting public health safeguards is its effort to reduce funding for research. The administration levied federal funds as an enforcement tool against major universities across the country, including several Ivy league schools, holding up funds over disputes over university policies.
As part of the Trump administration's funding package last summer, it also clawed back funding for research with approval from Congress. These decisions have left research institutions to lose scientists and research capacity.
Meanwhile the company that has emerged as the likely source of the cyclospora outbreak, Taylor Fresh Farms Inc., made a $1 million donation to MAGA Inc., a political action committee that supports President Donald Trump, six days after the FDA announced delay of the final rule, a filing with the Federal Election Commission shows.
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services denied that political donations influence its decisions in a post on social media. The post was in response to a post from Meidas Touch, a liberal-leaning media company.
"This is how the FAKE NEWS works: imply collusion, ignore the facts," HHS Rapid Response posted on social media on July 20. "Nothing influences our decisions except science and the safety of the American people."
On Tuesday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said during a press conference that the outbreak is "under control."
On July 18, the FDA reported that a sample that was provided by Taylor Farms tested positive for cyclospora before issuing an update the following day saying it "should be considered a false positive."
Taylor Farms highlighted the report, posting on social media that the FDA "apologized" for linking the infection to Taylor Farms.
"Today, FDA apologized to us," Taylor Farms said in a statement that has since been deleted on social media. "To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for Cyclospora."
However, the FDA further clarified the following day that the false-positive lab sample "does not change the basis of FDA's ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms."
Last week Taylor Farms announced it is removing all iceberg lettuce that is sourced from central Mexico from shelves.
"Acting on initial information provided by public health officials, in an abundance of caution, we completed a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico," Taylor Farms announced. "Recalled product was limited to iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico."
On Friday, the CDC said it continues to investigate the outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce distributed by Taylor Farms. The outbreak of infections has spread to nine states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Of those infected, 1,947 say they ate at Taco Bell, which gets its lettuce from Taylor Farms.
The number of infections is likely greater than what has been reported. Sorscher said cyclosporiasis is often underreported as "many people who get sick" do not seek medical attention or provide a stool sample. Healthcare providers may also not order the tests that would determine infection because cyclosporiasis has been a rare condition in the past.
Testing for cyclosporiasis has increased due to the ongoing outbreak, Sorscher added. One example of this is the Cleveland Clinic issuing a notice to providers instructing them on the circumstances when testing is recommended.
"Diagnostic testing has also improved over time: this parasite does not grow outside the body so it can't be cultured on a petri dish like salmonella or E coli," she said. "Detection was done under a microscope, visually looking at oocysts that are small and shed in low numbers. Essentially we're seeing it more because we're looking for it more often with better tools."
Changes in federal policy may not be the only catalyst for the outbreak. Sorscher said climate change can play a role as it is creating conditions that are more favorable for the cyclospora parasite.
"It is possible that cases are increasing due to climate change, as the parasite relies on consistent warm environmental temperatures to become infectious," she said.
The cyclospora outbreak was closely preceded by another rare outbreak in the United States. Earlier this summer, there was an outbreak of the New World screwworm, a parasite that was considered eradicated in the United States for nearly 60 years.
The screwworm was largely contained for decades before quickly spreading throughout Central America and ultimately being identified in Texas.
The twin outbreaks of the summer are not directly linked but Sorscher said she believes they are a "symptom" of the same problem facing the United States.
"I do believe that both outbreaks are cumulative symptoms of the erosion of public health policy in the United States," she said. "In the case of cyclospora, if our public health system were operating at full capacity, we could have caught the outbreak when it was smaller, before it made so many thousands of people sick."
If given the opportunity to speak to lawmakers, Sorscher said her message is simple, "fund public health properly."
"That includes rejecting the additional 40% cuts that the Trump administration budget has proposed for CDC, and increasing CDC's current food safety line," she said. "Right now we only spend $74 million on food safety surveillance, and adequate funding would look closer to $154 to $174 million."