Cyclospora outbreak followed years of declining FDA foreign inspections
Summary
A nationwide outbreak of the parasite cyclospora, linked to contaminated lettuce from a Mexican farm, has raised concerns about the safety of imported food in the U.S. At the same time, FDA inspections of foreign food facilities have dropped by nearly 35% since 2019, partly due to the pandemic and changes under President Donald Trump's administration.Key Facts
- Cyclospora is a parasite that causes diarrhea and was found in lettuce linked to a recent U.S. outbreak.
- FDA inspections of foreign food sites, including the Mexican farm involved, have declined almost 35% since 2019.
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused many FDA inspectors to retire or leave, reducing inspection capacity.
- The FDA often misses its goals for international food inspections even before the pandemic.
- Under President Trump, the FDA introduced shorter, one-day inspections to try to cover more sites.
- One-day inspections are less thorough than traditional inspections, which can take a week or more.
- The FDA uses other safety checks like border inspections and product sampling, not just site visits.
- FDA inspectors took about one month to visit the Mexican farm after the outbreak recall was announced.
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