SerpApi.Org
While a cyclosporiasis outbreak spread across the nation last week, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) wrote a letter to President Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The letter, dated July 16, reads: “Last year, you terminated the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) required surveillance of Cyclospora cayetanensis, the parasite responsible for cyclosporiasis. And now a cyclosporiasis outbreak sweeps the nation. Your foolish and self-indulgent demolition of critical public health programs puts Americans at risk.”
Ossoff added: “The Trump Administration is actively undermining food safety. To date, CDC has confirmed 1,645 cases – and there are still thousands of pending cases waiting for CDC to confirm.”
The senator added: “Across the country, parents feel increasingly uncertain about how, and whether they can, shop safely for their families. This is unacceptable. Please answer the following questions within 72 hours.
- Has the CDC's FoodNet been restored to require tracking of Cyclospora cayetanensis? If not, why?
- Why did you terminate tracking of Cyclospora cayetanensis in the first place?
- What is the status of epidemiological and food safety investigations to determine the source and scope of the outbreak?”
[NOTE: The Washington Post and USA Today reported that Kennedy did not eliminate FoodNet entirely, but that “under his restructuring, required pathogen monitoring was reduced from eight diseases down to just two (Salmonella and STEC/E. coli). The monitoring for six other pathogens-including Cyclospora and Listeria-was made optional.”]
U.S. Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ) also sent a letter to Kennedy asking for answers, citing the 2025 HHS decision to cut FoodNet's required pathogen surveillance list to two. At the time a spokesman for the CDC, which operates under HHS, said in a statement that the cuts would "allow FoodNet staff to prioritize core activities" and "steward resources effectively."
