Former FDA official warns cyclospora outbreak highlights food safety and nutrition trade-off
6 reported
A former director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has written that the current cyclospora outbreak reveals a contradiction between promoting “real foods” and maintaining microbial food safety. Susan Mayne, who led the center from 2015 to 2023, stated in an opinion essay that the FDA is investigating six cyclospora outbreaks, with only one currently linked to shredded iceberg lettuce. She noted that fresh fruits and vegetables, which are recommended as part of a healthy diet, are especially vulnerable to cyclospora contamination. Mayne argued that the current administration has focused on chemicals rather than microbes in foods and has taken steps that she says undermine microbial food safety. She listed several actions, including losses of experienced career employees at FDA and CDC, budgetary cuts, changes to the FoodNet surveillance program, delaying industry compliance with traceability requirements until July 2028, closing a USDA agricultural research facility, and disbanding a national advisory committee on microbiological criteria. Mayne also stated that the administration has called climate change a “hoax” and is supporting policies she says will accelerate it, which she believes will increase food safety risks.
What’s reported
The FDA is investigating six cyclospora outbreaks, only one of which is currently linked to shredded iceberg lettuce.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are especially vulnerable to cyclospora contamination, according to the article.
The FDA’s Food Traceability List includes cucumbers, herbs, leafy greens, melons, peppers, sprouts, tomatoes, other vegetables, fresh-cut fruits, and certain cheeses.
The article states that over the past 18 months, the administration has focused on chemicals rather than microbes in foods.
Actions cited include losses of experienced career employees at FDA and CDC, budgetary cuts, changes to FoodNet (eliminating six pathogens from surveillance including cyclospora), delaying traceability compliance until July 2028, closing a USDA research facility in Beltsville, Md., and disbanding the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria in Food.
The article states the administration has called climate change a “hoax” and is supporting policies that will accelerate it.
Key figures
Susan Mayne, Ph.D., former director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (2015–2023), adjunct professor at the Yale School of Public Health.
Sources: statnews.com
