Cyclospora exposes weak links in America's food safety system

Axios reports that the nation's largest known cyclospora outbreak — linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce — has sickened more than eleven thousand people across more than forty states this summer. The outbreak is shaking public confidence in America's food safety system at an awkward moment: the Trump administration is actively promoting the consumption of whole foods and fresh produce, even as health experts say recent budget cuts have weakened the agencies responsible for detecting and responding to contamination. The Food and Drug Administration has fewer communications staff, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reduced expertise in parasitic disease, and state and local health departments are straining under the caseload. In Michigan, the outbreak's epicenter, diners are declining lettuce on sandwiches — a sign of eroding consumer confidence in the very foods the government is trying to encourage.

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