Food safety and related illnesses are hot topics for midterm debates

Debates leading up to midterms can be messy, and this year, those debates are becoming a food fight — about grocery prices, which is a more typical debate, but also about whether it's safe to eat those groceries.

Cyclosporiasis ravaged lettuce supplies and stomachs this summer. Thousands of pounds of meat were recalled alongside ever-changing beef import regulations. And as Stephanie Armour for KFF reports, some food safety scientists blamed outbreaks on federal cuts to public health.

"Democrats have come out on the offensive, saying voters worried about the safety of the U.S. food supply should oust Republicans in the midterm elections," Armour writes. "The Trump administration has countered by accusing Democrats of scaremongering over food safety to score political points."

There have been 200 food recalls this year, similar to recalls this time last year. But this year's recalls are part of a broader trend with total recalls up by 21% since 2021. Epidemiologists say a better measure of safety is how many people are getting sick.

 
"Concern about food safety has especially taken hold now, public health leaders say, because the administration is portraying itself as a safety crusader while cutting staffing and funding for federal agencies responsible for surveillance and inspection," Armour writes, noting how the cyclospora outbreak made it harder for people to consume fresh foods, which has been the recommendation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.