Trust in America's food safety system is crumbling -- Congress can restore it

A congresswoman on the House Agriculture Committee argues the U.S. food-safety system has been weakened by reduced inspections, staffing, and funding. She cites an outbreak traced to iceberg lettuce that sickened nearly 11,000 people, with 454 hospitalizations and two deaths across 17 states, following a delay in FDA inspection at a Mexican facility—52 days after the first reported illness and the first visit since 2019. She also points to a salmonella outbreak tied to imported jalapeños that has sickened 431 people in 32 states. She links failures to budget cuts affecting agencies like the Agricultural Research Service and funding for Beltsville research.