AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of Americans - 4,100 and counting, according to NPR's Yuki Noguchi - has people giving the side eye to that piece of lettuce on their hamburger and to the federal agencies responsible for assuring food safety and the nation's health. Erika Edwards reports on health and medical news for NBC News, and she joins us now. Welcome.
ERIKA EDWARDS: Hi. Thanks for having me.
RASCOE: So first, let's address the news of the moment. Is this outbreak contained?
EDWARDS: Here's what we know. The CDC, the FDA have expanded this multistate outbreak. It's now including at least nine states generally in the Midwest, and those cases have been linked to iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms. However, there are a lot of other people who are still sick in places like New York and North Carolina. And so there are multiple investigations ongoing, and it's likely that more than one product is the source of a lot of these illnesses.
RASCOE: So from what you're telling me, we're not in the clear yet. It's not just, like, avoid the certain Taylor Farms products that have been recalled.
EDWARDS: I wish it were that easy. In North Carolina, for example, investigators there are investigating whether it's parsley or cilantro that have been linked to some of these illnesses. We know that in the past, snow peas, sugar snap peas, raspberries - which I love in the summer - have all been linked to cases previously. So all of those investigations are still ongoing. Sadly, it's not just lettuce at this point.
RASCOE: And so does this outbreak stand out from other recent food safety issues? Like, where would you rank this in terms of the public health and food safety stories that you've covered and researched?
EDWARDS: Oh, this is by far the record-shattering outbreak, specifically when it comes to cyclosporiasis. We've had other foodborne illnesses. Remember the slivered onions that were linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders a few years ago? By the way, those onions - also linked to Taylor Farms. A lot of people were sickened in that outbreak, but nowhere near the level, the thousands of people that we're seeing this summer.
RASCOE: We've talked about the approximate causes of the cyclosporiasis, but is this also, like, a governmental failure by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? Both of those are part of Health and Human Services. Or is this a failure on the part of the food and safety regulatory programs of the Department of Agriculture?
EDWARDS: Yeah. There are a lot of things going on here, and a lot of attention this summer has been on a program within the CDC called FoodNet. That's a partnership between federal health officials and 10 state health departments. It's intended to get sort of a bird's-eye view of what's happening nationally when it comes to these foodborne outbreaks. And historically, it tracks some really nasty bugs like Listeria and Shigella. Cyclospora historically has also been tracked.
Last summer, however, FoodNet scaled back from eight pathogens to just two. Now it only really tracks E. coli and salmonella. Based on my conversations with multiple federal health officials, including those who are deeply involved with tracking these outbreaks, the FoodNet cuts probably had very little impact on what we're seeing now with cyclosporiasis. It was never intended to catch outbreaks and stop them. It was more of a program to monitor trends over time. One thing that those health officials are pointing to is a delay in a rule called the Food Traceability Rule.
RASCOE: What is the Food Traceability Rule?
EDWARDS: So this was supposed to go into effect in January of this year. It's since been delayed to July of 2028. It was meant to make companies, food suppliers, keep really careful records about where their food is grown, where it goes and how it gets there. And the administration delayed it to give companies extra time to comply with this. Now, food safety experts say had companies not been given this extra time perhaps this could have identified the source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak a lot sooner.
RASCOE: So there are other foodborne illnesses now that are no longer being traced. Are you concerned that we could end up having an outbreak like the one we're seeing with cyclospora?
EDWARDS: Those bugs that we're no longer tracking with FoodNet include bacterial foodborne illnesses - Listeria, Shigella, Campylobacter, Vibrio. It's a little bit easier to track those infections because symptoms start within one to two days of eating that contaminated food. Compared to cyclosporiasis - that takes up to two weeks.
RASCOE: Well, what is the Trump administration saying about - especially, like, the Food Traceability Rule? Are they saying they're going to put a rush on it now, or...
EDWARDS: There's no indication from the Trump administration that they're putting any kind of rush on this. That change is set to take effect in two years - two years from today.
RASCOE: That's Erika Edwards of NBC News. Thank you so much for speaking with us.
EDWARDS: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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