Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wants to see food safety agencies fully funded, especially in the wake of the huge cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands across the country. She sent a letter to the CDC’s Acting Director Bhattacharya and the FDA’s Acting Commissioner Diamantas asking them to reverse the cuts made last year.
She said in a statement, “”Preventing foodborne illnesses like Cyclosporiasis and expediently detecting and responding to outbreaks are life-saving and economically essential functions of the FDA, CDC, and state health and agriculture departments working in collaboration and coordination with one another.”
The agencies in question are Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), Public Health Infrastructure Grants, Preventive Services Block Grant, Food Safety Inspection Service, and Food Emergency Response Network. Those agencies are tools used by the government to track and prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.
The letter states, “Last year the administration made reporting of foodborne illnesses caused by parasite Cyclospora optional when it cut the CDC FoodNet program’s tracking of ten pathogens, including Cyclospora, known to cause foodborne illness, to just two. Similarly in April 2025, the administration suspended the FDA’s Food Emergency Response Network program following the firings of key scientists as part of the administration’s layoffs of federal public health employees. More recently, the administration terminated Congressionally-appropriated Public Health Infrastructure Grants and Preventive Services Block Grants, which pay for state health department staff, laboratory capacity, diagnostics, tracking, and surveillance.”
The FoodNet program used to track eight pathogens: E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, cyclospora, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia. It downgraded Campylobacter, Listeria, cyclospora, Shigella, Vibrio and Yersinia to “optional” and now only Salmonella and E. coli fall under the “mandated” category..
It remains controversial whether or not those cuts have made the cyclospora outbreak worse. But proponents argue that in a country of this size, with a huge and complicated food production and transportation system, we should use all the tools we have available to keep citizens safe.
