Every time there’s a major foodborne illness outbreak, government regulators and food processors typically reassure consumers by saying something like, “America has the safest food supply in the world.”

While that may be true, a 2025 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) called foodborne illness in the U.S. “a serious and continuing problem.”

Each year, about 48 million Americans suffer foodborne illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of those, an estimated 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are an important to a healthy diet, but eating raw produce can expose you to hidden pathogens and parasites that cause serious illness and, in some cases, death.

Produce is linked to nearly half (46 percent) of all cases of foodborne illness in the U.S. Leafy greens, including spinach and lettuce, are among the most recalled items.

This summer’s Cyclospora outbreak, which investigators linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms, was among the largest foodborne illness outbreaks in U.S. history. Nearly 23,000 cases were reported, including more than 17,000 laboratory-confirmed cases. The outbreak sent 922 people to the hospital and caused two deaths, according to the latest CDC data.

Widespread news coverage of the outbreak, along with recalls of jalapeño peppers, frozen blueberries, and alfalfa sprouts, has led many people to ask why this problem keeps happening.

We discussed the topic with two nationally recognized food safety experts, Bill Marler and Brian Ronholm, on Checkbook’s Consumerpedia podcast. This article is based on that conversation.

Seattle attorney Bill Marler has advocated for food safety for more than 30 years, beginning when he represented victims of the 1993 E. Coli outbreak, originating from contaminated products sold by fast-food chain Jack in the Box. Marler runs the Food Safety News website, which publishes independent reporting on foodborne illness outbreaks, recalls, regulations, and public health.

Brian Ronholm is the director of food policy at Consumer Reports. Previously, he served as deputy director of the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the public health agency responsible for ensuring the safety of meat, poultry, and processed egg products.

Marler and Ronholm criticized the current U.S. food safety regulatory system. Ronholm described it as “a Jenga tower” that has become unstable. He said budget cuts and layoffs have reduced inspections, outbreak surveillance, and food safety research.

All of this is happening as Americans eat more imported fruits and vegetables than ever. About 60 percent of the fresh fruit and 38 percent of the fresh vegetables we eat are grown in foreign countries, according to the USDA.

Recent polls show declining consumer confidence in federal food-safety regulation. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in late July (during the Cyclospora outbreak) found that 43 percent of respondents had a lot (12 percent) or some (31 percent) confidence in the U.S. government’s oversight of food safety, while 55 percent said they have “not so much confidence” (25 percent) or none at all (30 percent).

Most Produce Grows in Open Fields, Which Is Risky

Any food eaten raw, such as fresh produce, is inherently vulnerable to contamination by pathogens that can make people sick as it moves from farm to table.

Fruits and vegetables grown outdoors can be contaminated by irrigation water, fecal matter from wild or domestic animals that wander through the fields, improperly applied manure as fertilizer, harmful bacteria in the soil, and poor worker hygiene. 

Without access to proper handwashing stations, bacteria on workers’ hands can transfer to the product during harvesting and packing.

Industrial Processing Can Make Little Problems Worse

It wasn’t so long ago that most Americans made salads from whole heads of lettuce or cabbage and bunches of spinach. These days, many shoppers choose easy-to-use bagged salads, which carry a higher risk of contamination because the ingredients are washed and chopped together. If one ingredient is compromised, the pathogen spreads to the whole batch.

“When you introduce mass production into a ready-to-eat raw product, if you make a mistake, it’s a big one,” Marler said. “That’s why I have said repeatedly over the years, convenience is just not worth the risk.”

Less Surveillance and Fewer Inspections 

For decades, Congress and past White House administrations have underfunded the food safety programs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the USDA, and the CDC. And all three agencies were forced to reduce staff even further in response to budget cuts ordered by President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As a result, the CDC ended its Cyclospora surveillance (the parasite implicated in this summer’s Taylor Farms lettuce outbreak).

“The CDC essentially lost its hunting license when they were forced to remove this pathogen from its surveillance list,” Ronholm said.

The FDA inspects less than one percent of the food entering the U.S., even though many large outbreaks have been caused by imported products. According to Ronholm, Taylor Farms has “an extensive history of recalls” involving lettuce grown in Mexico. Yet, he said, the FDA did not issue any import alerts for Taylor Farms or other growers in Mexico.

“That’s really problematic,” Ronholm said. “What’s being demonstrated is that additional scrutiny is needed.”

Sloppy Practices 

In 2023, Marler and Ronholm were featured in a Netflix documentary, Poisoned: The Dirty Truth about Your Food. Aerial footage shot in Yuma, Ariz., showed produce fields located right next to giant cattle feedlots. A good rain could carry runoff from all the cattle droppings into the irrigation systems of those fields. This same recipe for disaster is still happening today, Marler said.

In that documentary, Frank Yannis, then a deputy FDA commissioner, said: “We believe that the FDA, as well as the entire food industry, the fresh, leafy green industry, can and must do more. Let me stress: must do more.”

Yannis said growers have “the primary responsibility to understand whether their products can be contaminated and take measures to mitigate those risks.”

Marler points out that the FDA waited 30 days after announcing the Taylor Farms Cyclospora lettuce outbreak before dispatching inspectors to Mexico. This delay could mean we will never know the specific culprit in this case, he said.

Cyclospora is spread through human feces and “generally transmitted when infected feces (poop) contaminate food or water,” according to the FDA. So, the most likely explanation for the lettuce outbreak, Marler said, is that “sewer water” somehow contaminated the fields.

Congress Delays Traceability Rules…Again

While no system could eliminate all foodborne illness outbreaks, a more robust tracing program could quickly pinpoint suspected products, reducing the number of people who get sick.

When Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act in 2011 it told the FDA to create a strong traceback system. The Food Traceability Rule requires businesses that manufacture, process, pack, or hold specific high-risk foods, including leafy greens, peppers, sprouts, and fresh fruits and vegetables, to maintain enhanced electronic recordkeeping. 

After several delays, the rule was set to take effect in July 2026, but Congress moved the implementation to 2028, bowing to industry pressure. The growers and processors insist that voluntary industry regulation works better and faster than government rules.

The Food Industry Association (FMI) argues that complying with the rule “will place immense burdens on companies, who will be forced to restructure their recordkeeping practices and invest in new technological solutions, while offering little public health benefit relative to current recordkeeping and business practices.”

FMI claims the investments required to comply with the rule will be cost-prohibitive for many small- and mid-sized firms and could lead to higher prices for consumers.

Consumer advocates say delaying the rule further will mean we’ll see even more deadly outbreaks.

“We’re experiencing the consequences this summer of what happens when a traceability rule is delayed,” Ronholm said. “It’s insane that such a critical piece of the food regulatory system is not in place yet,” and that food companies “would operate against their own best interests.”

The traceability rule would not have prevented the Taylor Farms Cyclospora outbreak, but Marler said he believes fewer people—perhaps 500 to 1,000—would have become sick had the rule been in effect.

With the rule in effect, Taco Bell (where investigators think much of the suspect lettuce was served) presumably would not have taken 10 days to provide the Michigan Department of Health with its fresh-produce records, as requested.

Taco Bell did not respond to Checkbook’s request to explain the delay.

Consumer response to the lettuce recall was swift and noticeable. Foot traffic at Taco Bell restaurants fell nearly 30 percent on Saturday, July 18, during the height of the outbreak, compared with the average Saturday traffic earlier in the year, Reuters reported. An estimated 26 million households stopped buying salads and fresh greens during the month ending July 26, USA TODAY reported.

“These industries just don’t want to be regulated,” Marler said. “And they are willing to absorb what could be a multibillion-dollar hit because they don’t want to play ball with the federal government and ultimately with consumers.”

FDA Recommends New Safety Procedures 

On August 11, after a summer of food recalls, the FDA issued new guidance (recommendations, not rules) for food processors on safely handling ready-to-eat fresh-cut produce, such as chopped lettuce, shredded vegetables, and sliced fruit. The guidance covers proper preparation and packaging, including treating wash water with antimicrobials, thoroughly cleaning equipment, and maintaining proper temperatures.

Speaking on CNBC, acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said Americans “should feel confident in eating fresh produce, including leafy greens.”

Taylor Farms said it is “already in compliance” with the FDA’s guidance.

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

Because fresh produce, such as lettuce, spinach, and sprouts, is not cooked, there is no “kill step” to eliminate invisible pathogens that may be present on the product. Marler and Ronholm suggest a few ways to reduce your risk of getting sick:

• Buy heads of lettuce or individual bunches instead of bagged salads.
• Washing leafy greens can help remove dirt and germs, but it doesn’t eliminate the risk from pathogens.
• Wash and peel vegetables grown in the ground, such as potatoes and carrots.
• Remove the outer skin and the first layer of onions to prevent surface bacteria from spreading to the inside when you cut them.

Washing produce with soap or commercial produce washes is not recommended. Use slightly warm water instead.

And this may come as a surprise: Organic produce is not necessarily safer. The GreenWise whole frozen blueberries, recalled in mid-August, were organic.

Shopping at a farmer’s market might reduce your risk. “Keeping things simpler and being more local has the opportunity of making it safer,” Marler said.

The bottom line: You can only do so much. To accomplish real change, processes and regulations must be put in place to enhance food safety from the farm to your table.

More Info:

• U.S. PIRG: Food for Thought 2026
• USDA: Food Safety Basics
• FDA: Safe Food Handling
• CDC: What to Do if You Think You Have Food Poisoning