Every summer, eating can carry unexpected risks.
As the United States responds to a major Cyclospora outbreak linked to contaminated iceberg lettuce, Salmonella has also been detected in jalapeños, eggs, and dog food. The jalapeño-related outbreak has sickened at least 431 people and hospitalized 57 across more than 20 states. At the same time, a dual-pathogen outbreak involving E. coli and Salmonella has been linked to alfalfa sprouts, affecting 55 people in 15 states.
So are foodborne illness outbreaks actually worse this summer, or does it just seem that way?
To explore that question, WIRED reviewed data published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on food poisoning outbreaks. The agency has identified more than 12,800 illnesses linked to foodborne outbreaks in 2026—already far more than in any year since 2020. By comparison, the FDA identified 895 outbreak-related cases last year.
Experts say the surge in summer foodborne illnesses reflects chronically underfunded food safety systems, weaknesses in federal food policy, and recent cuts to public health infrastructure under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“What’s happening this summer shows me the fragility of the system and what happens when you stress the system,” says Barbara Kowalczyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition at George Washington University.
To understand the scale, consider the Cyclospora outbreak. The number of illnesses has been so high that Jennifer McIntyre, a food microbiologist and founder of the consulting firm Food Safety Strategies, described it as “completely unprecedented.”
FDA data based on case counts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that this Cyclospora outbreak is the largest the FDA has investigated in the United States since the 1990s. Even that figure likely underestimates the number of people who became ill, according to the CDC’s own calculations.
The FDA’s figures include only illnesses directly associated with the specific outbreak under investigation. So far, approximately 67 percent of the CDC’s 17,180 laboratory-confirmed Cyclospora infections in the United States have been linked to Taylor Farms’ iceberg lettuce. The remaining cases are connected to other outbreaks or individual infections that require additional FDA investigation. The CDC is also aware of at least 11,844 additional cases that have not been laboratory confirmed or require further analysis.
Cyclospora infections were once considered rare compared with more common foodborne illnesses such as Salmonella and E. coli. Historically, this relatively obscure parasite caused hundreds to thousands of illnesses in the United States each year. Because Cyclospora was uncommon—or at least appeared to be—it was not included in many standard testing panels for gastrointestinal diseases. That, along with the number of people who did not seek medical care for potentially parasite-related diarrhea, may have hidden the outbreak’s true scale.
Cyclospora is also difficult to remove from food because it can settle into the crevices and folds of leafy greens, herbs, and berries. Common food disinfectants are not effective against the parasite. These foods are often eaten raw, and Cyclospora forms a tough protective shell that helps it survive on produce.
Source: www.wired.com