Automated, risk-tiered supplier monitoring does not prevent an outbreak (like this summer's cyclosporiasis event) or replace the traceback work done by FDA and CDC, but it can change how fast and how precisely a distributor can act while that investigation unfolds.
The recent Cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce is a reminder of just how difficult modern foodborne outbreak investigations have become. In reality, food safety investigations rarely depend on a single "smoking gun." The future of ensuring food safety lies not in simply improving any one test or technology, but in integrating them into a comprehensive decision-support system.
Science and decision-making rarely operate on the same timeline. While scientists continue evaluating new evidence, people across the food system are making decisions based on the best information available at that moment. This creates a natural tension, as the ongoing Cyclospora outbreak investigation has demonstrated
Public health experts say the ongoing cyclosporiasis situation exposes growing weaknesses in national foodborne illness surveillance, highlighting how funding and program cuts and CDC staff attrition could undermine outbreak detection and delay response, affecting public health communication and consumer confidence in food safety.
In a letter, Senator Amy Klobuchar urged CDC and FDA to fully restore food safety programs that have been affected under the Trump Administration and continue supporting state public health agencies with the resources needed to detect, investigate, and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks.
WHO has released a set of updated manuals to help national authorities strengthen foodborne illness outbreak surveillance and response, contributing to faster and more reliable communication and response internationally (i.e., through INFOSAN).
At the 2025 Food Safety Summit, the much-anticipated Town Hall session on Thursday featured a candid discussion and attendee Q&A with officials from FDA, USDA-FSIS, CDC, and AFDO.
Recently introduced to U.S. Congress, the Federal and State Food Safety Information Sharing Act aims to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to share crucial food safety information with state and local regulatory agencies to improve foodborne illness outbreak response.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a three-part guide describing how whole genome sequencing (WGS) can be used as a tool to strengthen foodborne illness surveillance and response.
In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we talk with Martin Wiedmann, Ph.D., D.V.M., the Gellert Family Professor in Food Safety and Food Science at Cornell University, about his research on Listeria and Salmonella, his work to strengthen foodborne illness surveillance and response, his use of whole genome sequencing (WGS), and other topics.
