Cyclospora outbreak puts Kennedy’s food safety agenda under pressure

A large cyclosporiasis outbreak is putting fresh pressure on federal food safety agencies, and on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s promise to rebuild confidence in the CDC. For consumers and investors watching food, grocery and restaurant names, the case shows how quickly a supply-chain health scare can become a regulatory and communications problem.

Kennedy said this week that the outbreak is “under control” and rejected criticism that federal cuts have weakened the investigation, according to CNBC. The illness, cyclosporiasis, is caused by cyclospora, a parasite that can lead to serious diarrhea and is harder to trace than many bacteria because parasites do not grow outside the human body.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted more than 4,000 laboratory-confirmed cases and is aware of more than 7,400 additional cases that have not yet been confirmed by lab testing, many in Michigan and Ohio, according to CNBC. Michigan alone has reported at least 7,000 cases, while the CDC’s official total has trailed state figures.

Regulators focus on lettuce, then correct a test result

The Food and Drug Administration and CDC have been examining shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms as a likely source, according to CNBC. The FDA said over the weekend that lettuce from the supplier had tested positive for cyclospora, then later said the result was a false positive.

Donald Schaffner, chair of food science at Rutgers University, told CNBC he had not seen that kind of reversal before and called it a “pretty big screw up.” A former senior FDA food official told CNBC the agency was right to disclose the initial result because waiting could have exposed more people if the positive test had been accurate.

HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard told CNBC that the FDA has been transparent with Taylor Farms and that the corrected lab result does not change the agency’s findings. She said the FDA and CDC are using available public health tools to identify additional sources and support public health action.

Experts point to thin food safety funding

Several food safety experts and former federal officials told CNBC the outbreak highlights a system they view as underfunded and strained. Craig Hedberg, co-director of the Minnesota Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence, said federal funding cuts over the past year have reduced the government’s outbreak response capacity.

Dr. Daniel Jernigan, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, told CNBC the CDC’s Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria lost $40 million in U.S. Agency for International Development funding after the Trump administration dismantled USAID. He estimated the group has lost about one-quarter of its staff.

Hilliard said those funds supported international work and did not pay for the CDC’s domestic foodborne illness response. She also said President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget includes a $33 million increase for food safety activities.

The CDC’s food safety budget is $74 million this fiscal year, up $2 million from last year, according to the agency’s operating plan cited by CNBC. George Washington University’s Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security found that CDC food safety funding has not had a meaningful increase since 2014.

The FDA’s food center has a $1.17 billion budget this year, about 17% of the agency’s roughly $7 billion in total program-level spending, according to CNBC. The FDA’s drug and tobacco centers receive significant industry fees, while food oversight relies more heavily on congressional funding.

States are also under strain

A May Congressional Research Service analysis found the Trump administration ended $5.78 billion in CDC grants to states. Sarah Sorscher of the Center for Science in the Public Interest told CNBC those grants help pay for epidemiologists, the specialists who track disease patterns and investigate outbreaks.

Kentucky’s public health department told CNBC the team that conducts case interviews for foodborne illness has seen staffing fall 30% to 50% because of lower federal grant funding. Ohio’s health department said it requested CDC help and will host Epidemic Intelligence Service officers this week to assist with the cyclospora investigation.

The FDA also reported a separate new outbreak Wednesday involving dozens of people and an unidentified product, adding another investigation for agencies already working through the cyclospora cases.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.