The recent Taco Bell-/cyclospora related foodborne outbreak was bad enough, but the next one outbreak could be much worse, according to a new report from KFF.
That level of concern doesn't come easy or from just one or two food safety leaders, but the ones that KFF reporters spoke with, say that federal budget cuts are making it harder to pinpoint and stop the spread of foodborne illnesses in its tracks.
Not only has the Trump administration taken its scissors to public health funding and the number of workers at federal health agencies, but it's also narrowed FoodNet (the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network), which until now was mandated to track cyclospora and five other pathogens:
- Campylobacter (found in undercooked poultry and unpasteurized milk)
- Listeria (deli meats, soft cheeses, smoked seafood)
- Shigella
- Vibrio
- Yersinia (linked to undercooked pork, including chitterlings)
Only Salmonella and E. coli tracking remains mandatory.
Between those six no-longer-mandatory pathogens, hundreds of people in the U.S. die each year.
With tracking either off or running at a low roar, one of those six bacteria – campylobacter, has made about 60 people in Idaho this year in one identified outbreak. And like cyclospora, campylobacter can mean double trouble to people 65 and older.
Smart Senior Daily Staff
The Government's Response
To be fair, HHS isn't biting on the alarm. A spokesperson told KFF that FDA investigators were untouched by the staffing cuts, that next year's proposed budget actually adds $33 million for food safety work, and that CDC never stopped watching for cyclospora to begin with.
Food safety researchers, however, are less convinced. In comments to KFF, Barbara Kowalcyk of George Washington University noted that the backup systems the government is now leaning on come with no deadline for states to report a problem once they spot one, which is a pretty big asterisk.
