Two of the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States this summer trace back to produce grown outside the country, and both arrived through an import system the federal government inspects at a fraction of the rate Congress set.
The jalapeño Salmonella outbreak, linked to peppers from Sinaloa, Mexico, has sickened 345 people across 27 states with 36 hospitalizations and no deaths. Cyclosporiasis has surged nationally since May, with the CDC reporting more than 10,000 laboratory-confirmed domestically acquired cases and aware of thousands more still under investigation, making this the largest such season in U.S. records.
Neither outbreak has been shown to result from a missed inspection. That connection has not been established by any agency, and stating it as fact would be wrong. What is documented is the shortfall itself, and it is substantial.
Two Outbreaks, One Import Pathway
The Salmonella Javiana outbreak was traced through interviews and supply chain records rather than a positive product sample. Investigators identified fresh jalapeños from a single grower in Sinaloa, imported by Coast Citrus Distributors, and distributed to restaurants including Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA. The recall later expanded into grocery salsa, guacamole, and prepared foods.
The cyclospora picture is more complicated and worth stating precisely. The FDA is investigating several separate cyclospora clusters. The largest, a 15-state investigation, is linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico and served at Taco Bell locations. In its most recent update, the FDA reported 1,947 people infected who also reported eating at Taco Bell, across nine states, with at least 98 hospitalizations. Taylor Farms de Mexico removed all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market and initiated a recall.
Michigan, the hardest-hit state, has reported two deaths in people with underlying health conditions, the first fatalities recorded in a U.S. cyclosporiasis outbreak. State and federal counts differ because states also report probable cases while the CDC and FDA count only laboratory-confirmed ones.
Both pathogens are associated with contamination in the growing environment rather than the kitchen. Cyclospora in particular is shed in feces as hardy oocysts and is not reliably removed by washing produce at home. Detection is also uneven, because Cyclospora requires stool testing methods that are not part of a routine parasite panel.
The Inspection Numbers Behind the Import System
The FDA is responsible for ensuring the safety of nearly 80 percent of the nation's food supply, including fruits, vegetables, processed foods and most seafood. The Food Safety Modernization Act, enacted in 2011, set an annual target of 19,200 foreign food facility inspections.
The Government Accountability Office reported that from fiscal 2018 through fiscal 2023, the FDA averaged 917 foreign inspections per year, alongside an average of 8,353 domestic inspections. In fiscal 2019, the agency's strongest year, it completed 1,727 foreign inspections, about 9 percent of the target.
The agency has not met its domestic or foreign inspection targets since fiscal 2018. The FDA considers the foreign target unrealistic and unachievable but has not identified an appropriate alternative and communicated it to Congress, as the GAO first recommended in January 2015.
Domestic performance also lagged. The FDA did not inspect about 7 percent of high-risk domestic facilities due for inspection in fiscal 2019, a figure that rose to 40 percent and 49 percent in fiscal 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic.
FDA officials identified limited workforce capacity as the primary obstacle. In July 2024, the agency had 432 investigators, about 90 percent of its full-time equivalent ceiling, covering both domestic and foreign inspections. The agency has since told the GAO it launched a workgroup to determine how many foreign inspections are actually needed, with that analysis intended to inform the size of its foreign investigator cadre.
Oversight Rests Mostly on Companies
This is the part that explains how the system is designed to function without an inspector at every facility.
Under the Foreign Supplier Verification Program, U.S. importers are legally responsible for verifying that the foreign suppliers they buy from produce food meeting American safety standards. Importers must evaluate hazards, check whether a supplier has been the subject of an FDA warning letter or import alert, and conduct verification activities such as onsite audits by qualified auditors.
The agency also uses import alerts, which allow shipments from a listed firm to be detained without physical examination, shifting the burden to the importer to demonstrate compliance before product enters commerce.
That architecture means most oversight is documentary. Recent enforcement correspondence shows the agency finding that importers had never built the verification programs the law requires. Whether paperwork enforcement can substitute for physical inspection is a fair question, and one the FDA has not answered directly.
Steps for Households Without Overcorrecting
Avoiding imported produce entirely is neither practical nor supported by the evidence. Imported food makes up a large share of the American diet, and the nutritional cost of avoiding fresh produce is real while the individual risk from any given item remains low.
The useful actions are narrower. Check active outbreak advisories and recalls at FDA and USDA sites by brand, product description, and best-by date rather than by country of origin, since recalls are lot-specific. Sign up for recall notifications if you shop for a household that includes anyone at elevated risk.
Washing produce reduces some surface contamination and remains worth doing, but it does not reliably remove cyclospora oocysts or eliminate Salmonella that has entered the plant. Cooking is more reliable than washing for pathogen reduction.
Children under 5, adults 65 and older, pregnant people and anyone with a weakened immune system face the highest odds of severe illness from either pathogen. For those households, the calculation around raw produce during an active outbreak is different from the general population's.
Anyone with diarrhea lasting more than three days, fever above 102 degrees, bloody stools, persistent vomiting, or signs of dehydration should contact a clinician and mention any recalled product they consumed. Cyclosporiasis can persist for a month or longer untreated, and it responds to specific antibiotic treatment, so a doctor needs to know the exposure to order the right test.
The GAO has asked Congress to direct the FDA to determine how many foreign inspections are necessary and to update the target accordingly. As of February of this year, Congress had not acted. MedicalDaily will report changes to inspection targets, staffing and outbreak investigations.
Key Questions Answered
Did missed inspections cause these outbreaks? No agency has established that. The inspection shortfall and the outbreaks are both documented, but a causal link has not been demonstrated.
How many foreign inspections does the FDA conduct? An average of 917 per year from fiscal 2018 through 2023, against a statutory target of 19,200.
Why do cyclospora case counts vary so much? States also count probable cases, while the CDC and FDA report only laboratory-confirmed illnesses, and several separate clusters are under investigation.
Who is responsible for verifying imported food is safe? Under federal law, the U.S. importer, through a Foreign Supplier Verification Program.
Does washing produce solve this? Not fully. Washing helps with surface contamination but does not reliably remove Cyclospora oocysts or internalized bacteria.
Should shoppers avoid imported produce? No. Recalls are lot-specific, and broadly avoiding fresh produce carries a nutritional cost without a matching safety benefit.
What would change the inspection numbers? The GAO has asked Congress to direct the FDA to set a realistic target. Congress has not acted.
