Cyclospora outbreaks expose a U.S. food safety system that’s been crumbling for decades—and Musk’s DOGE cuts are ‘only going to make that worse’

A man looks at herbs in the produce aisle of a grocery store. (Credit: Brandon Bell—Getty Images)

A slew of food recalls this summer have left a bad taste in Americans’ mouths, and public health professionals warn cuts to key food safety personnel means more food-related illness could be on its way.

In July, Taylor Farms de Mexico recalled all iceberg lettuce sourced in Mexico from 27 states following a cyclospora outbreak that has sickened 18,445 people since the beginning of May. That’s on top of Taylor Farms recalling fresh jalapenos in 26 states over salmonella concerns. A Food and Drug Administration report in July revealed Dairy Queen locations in five states pulled 74 cases of ice cream after metal shavings were found in the product. Don’t forget the more than 75,000 packages of tofu recalled for possibly containing ink.