This article was originally published in Watchdog Weekly. Read it here.
E. coli in blueberries. Salmonella in jalapeño peppers. Strains of both diseases in alfalfa sprouts. Cyclospora in iceberg lettuce. This summer, recall announcements for contaminated food have forced consumers to check their grocery lists against FDA’s website on a near weekly basis.
Even with four months still left on the calendar, 2026 is on track to be one of the worst years for foodborne illness in recent American history. The FDA has posted 20 investigations so far this year—five fewer than the agency’s yearly average from 2021-2025. Worse still, these investigations are happening at an agency that has purged more than 4,000 of its employees since the start of the Trump administration.
More concerning than the number of investigations themselves is how much more severe these foodborne illness outbreaks are becoming. This troubling cocktail of fewer investigations and worse outcomes should truly worry you and your loved ones.
We’ve covered the largest Cyclospora infestation in U.S. history in this newsletter before, but that isn’t the only foodborne illness setting a new, unfortunate, precedent.
Last month, for example, the FDA invoked its highest level risk classification for the cluster of Salmonella-tainted eggs. Nearly 20 million eggs had been recalled over agency concerns that their consumption raised a “reasonable probability” of “serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The jalapeño and alfalfa sprout clusters, while smaller, carry a nastier passenger, raising concerns over drug resistant variants of Salmonella. CDC analysis of the infected individuals from both sources found several instances of bacteria resistant to ceftriaxone, a commonly prescribed medication to treat severe Salmonella poisoning.
Salmonella bacteria are the second leading cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., and these drug-restraint strains are often what end up getting you sick.
This is especially true for poultry-based infections, as Brian Bienkowski recently pointed out:
“Poultry — chicken and turkey — account for about a quarter of all salmonella contamination cases in the US. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) within the USDA tracks salmonella and reported that the number of tested chicken samples that had salmonella decreased 50% from 2017 to 2021, and then held steady over recent years. However, Farm Forward’s analysis of FSIS data from 2014 to 2025 shows that three strains — salmonella infantis, salmonella enteritidis, and salmonella typhimurium — accounted for about 68% of salmonella in the poultry industry in 2025, up from just 25% in 2014. These strains are the three most commonly found to make people sick. And the salmonella on poultry is increasingly resistant to antibiotic drugs: more than 73% of salmonella-contaminated poultry in 2025 was resistant to at least one antibiotic important for human use. In 2014, only 48% of samples had such resistance.”
A Disaster by Corporate Design
This new reality of widespread circulation of drug resistant food pathogens is a public health crisis by corporate design.
Taylor Farms—the produce conglomerate that controls 40% of all salad kits sold in the U.S.—has been the driving force behind most cases of Cyclosporiasis and was quick to recall their jalapeño products over Salmonella concerns.
To shield off much needed accountability, Taylor Farms has adopted a PR strategy describing food safety as its “biggest area of funding by several orders of magnitude,” —more than $200 million a year, by the company’s own account. What’s been left unsaid is the direction and purpose of the conglomerate’s political spending.
Indeed, Taylor Farms has dedicated significant funds towards the purchase of political influence and reprieve from burdensome regulations.
Since 2020, Taylor Farms and its parent company, Taylor Fresh foods, have donated $850,000 to Americans For Prosperity (AFP): the Koch-founded network that funds most of the Republican Party’s deregulatory endeavors. Last August, AFP celebrated Congress’s repeal of two regulations meant to improve food storage systems.
And six days before the FDA delayed enforcement of its Food Traceability Rule that would have sped up tracing of the cyclospora outbreak to its likely source, Taylor Farms cut a $1 million check to MAGA, Inc.
If you follow the money, a clear picture emerges: Taylor Farms’ investments show that their definition of a safe food system isn’t one where Americans are safely able to eat fresh produce. It’s one that is strong enough to protect their bottom line and too weak to hold them accountable. Taylor Farms’ interests are fundamentally rooted in unfettered access to profits—even at the expense of public health.
It would be political malpractice for congressional democrats to eschew any opportunity to memorialize this scandal. It’s critical that people across the country are able to understand and tell their friends the real reasons for their extraordinarily shitty 2026 summer.