Last year, the FDA also announced that it was delaying a new rule on food traceability, which would have made it easier for FDA investigators to identify and remove from the market foods linked to illnesses, such as Taylor Farms’ lettuce.
“Catastrophic” mismanagement
Last week, Kennedy claimed that the Cyclospora surge was “under control,” but critics and former FDA officials have scoffed at the statement.
“If history is any judge, when the Trump administration declares a crisis ‘under control’, it’s time to brace for the worst yet to come,” Brad Woodhouse, president of the public health nonprofit Protect Our Care, said in a statement.
Frank Yiannas, who served as FDA’s deputy commissioner for food policy and response in the first Trump administration and under Biden appeared equally skeptical. Yiannas has publicly called for an independent investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Cyclospora outbreaks.
