Restore FoodNet Surveillance and FDA/CDC Leadership Now

Restore mandatory tracking of all eight pathogens under the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network immediately, fill the vacant leadership positions at the CDC and FDA, direct inspectors to prioritize high-risk foods and imports, and have the Department of Health and Human Services reaffirm that vaccines are safe and effective. These are not complicated asks. They are the baseline of functional public health. The consequences of inaction are already here. The U.S. has reported roughly 10,500 cases of foodborne illness so far this year — against an annual average of about 1,500 between 2021 and 2025. At least 9,481 people across 17 states have been sickened by cyclospora in the largest outbreak of its kind in U.S. history, driven in part by cuts of more than 40% to food safety detection systems. Eggs, jalapeños, blueberries, prepared foods — the recalls keep coming. As former Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams put it, you cannot effectively address chronic disease while being repeatedly overwhelmed by acute infectious outbreaks. Cutting surveillance down to two pathogens while leaving top health agency positions vacant is not a policy choice — it is negligence. Every week without restored FoodNet coverage is another week an outbreak goes undetected longer than it should. Act now.