Lettuce Talk About Cyclospora (Again)

Contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce may be the culprit, but could government systems actually have stopped the spread?

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We first published a piece about cyclosporiasis on June 17th when there were just 17 states with documented cases of cyclospora infections. Now, about 7 weeks after we first wrote about it, there are 47 states with 23,000 confirmed and probable cases, 517 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths related to this foodborne illness. And while Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled much of its lettuce that came from the identified contaminated food processing facility in Mexico, cases are still rising.

Yesterday’s update on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s webpage tracking its investigation stated, “The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico and recalled by Taylor Farms de Mexico.” But what can actually get done with the limited human and financial resources, and can our food safety systems actually prevent other outbreaks like this from happening again?

According to the Government Accountability Office, the “FDA has not met its domestic and foreign inspection targets since fiscal year 2018.” In July 2024, there were just 432 FGA investigators to cover inspections of the 300,000 FGA-registered food facilities. In 2025, foreign food safety inspections conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have hit a historic low due to Trump Administration budget and staff cuts.

This administration’s $11.4 billion cuts to state and local health departments are a consequential hit to an already short-staffed and underfunded critical resource in disease tracking and prevention. State health departments do not have the financial or personnel resources to compensate for deregulation of food safety programs.

Who makes the decision to cut funding for public health programs? Our elected officials in local, state, and federal offices. Like any other public service, funding and regulations are decided by who we send to office – for better or worse.

15 states have elections this month, and every one of those states has reported confirmed cases of cyclospora. (Here’s a map to see if your state is one of them!)

And with just 42 days until early voting begins in the general election, it’s important to make sure you’re ready to vote for people and policies that will support federal and state programs that protect our health and our food so we prevent future outbreaks and are best prepared for the next one.

Start by sharing this article with anyone you know living in states that have reported cases of cyclosporiasis.

Then make sure your voter registration information is up to date so you can plan your ballot and vote for protecting our food safety systems at the federal, state, and local levels!

Finally, stay tuned with Feel Good Action for updates on the political issues that are most critical to Americans in the 2026 midterms!