You could say that the Cyclospora outbreak where Taylor Farms shredded iceberg lettuce has been a suspected source is just the tip of the iceberg. If you look on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks” website, you’ll find 12 outbreaks where the “Outbreak/Event Status” is still listed as “ongoing.” Yes, 12. You’ll also find that for eight of these outbreaks the source of the outbreak remains “Not Yet Identified.”
And of these 12 outbreaks, there are four Cyclospora outbreaks, three Salmonella outbreaks, two E. coli outbreaks, two Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks and a Clostridium botulinum outbreak in a powdered infant formula. That is much worse than calling birds, French hens, turtle doves and partridges and would certainly make for a terrible Christmas song. But it’s not a good in the middle of Summer song either.
Meanwhile, a number of people on social media have been wondering aloud—because that’s what you do on social media—whether the Trump administration’s cuts over the past year have led to the current Cyclospora outbreak situation. Some have even dubbed it “lettuce-gate.” After all, those cuts have slashed funding for and personnel at the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other parts of the U.S. Health and Human Services. That’s included specifically cutting the CDC’s Foodnet program that is supposed to help—guess what—detect, investigate and stop outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Add in the Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria and Clostridium botulinum situations, and you’ve gotta wonder how much things are getting out of control.
The Four Ongoing Cyclospora Outbreaks
It’s already been nearly a week since HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had claimed on July 21, “We do have the outbreak under control.” That was referring to the Cyclospora outbreak, as I covered in Forbes previously. By now, it should be quite clear that “under control” would not be the best way to describe the Cyclospora outbreak or outbreaks. I’ve reached out to contacts at HHS about this situation and will provide updates accordingly based on what I hear.
While the outbreak has centered around nine states—Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and West Virginia—cases have been reported in 41 states. Since Kennedy’s statement, the number of cases has continued to grow. Michigan has had the most cyclosporiasis cases so far, with already over 9,200, leading to at least 160 hospitalizations. Coming in second is Ohio with over 2,500 cases to date. That’s literally explosive news, since cyclosporiasis can lead to weeks and even months of explosive diarrhea.
And just a day after Kennedy’s claim, later, the FDA added the following to its “Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks” website list” “New outbreak of Cyclospora (ref #1392) linked to a not yet identified product has been added to the table. FDA has initiated traceback.” That new addition has 72 as the total case count, “Not Yet Identified” as the product linked to the illnesses, “active” as the investigation status and “ongoing” as the Outrbeak/Event Status. That brought to three the total number of ongoing Cyclospora outbreaks where the investigation is listed as “active” and the product causing the outbreak has not yet been identified.
The Three Ongoing Salmonella Outbreaks
It’s also a Salmonella, here we go again situation. I have written in Forbes about Salmonellosis before many times such as in June 2025. The three ongoing Salmonella outbreaks consist of a Salmonella Javiana one first listed on July 22 with 106 reported cases, a Salmonella Oranienburg one first listed on July 8 with 81 reported cases and a Salmonella Enteritidis one first listed on June 10 with 96 reported cases.
There is egg-stra info for the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak. Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. has issued a recall of its eggs with “sell by” or “best by” dates between July 20, 2026 and August 17, 2026, and sold under the brand names of Country Morning, Cal-Maine Sunups, Brookshire’s, Simple Truth, and Kroger. But don’t put eggs in the two other Salmonella outbreaks baskets just yet. The sources of the Salmonella Javiana and Salmonella Oranienburg outbreaks are still not known.
The Two Ongoing E. coli Outbreaks
Then, there’s “eeee”—the two ongoing E. coli outbreaks. I’ve written about E. coli infections before in Forbes. And spoiler alert, such infections are not good to have.
Only one—the E. coli O145:H28 one first listed o n July 6—has had an associated product identified: frozen blueberries. As a result, Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. initiated a recall of its GreenWise frozen organic blueberries that came in 10-oz packages and bore a printed lot code of 60401 and a “Best by” date of February 9, 2028. The other outbreak, an E. coli O157:H7 one with 14 reported cases, first listed on July 1, remains ongoing with an active investigation that still has not identified a clear product source.
The Two Ongoing Listeria Outbreaks
And what is all the Listeria about, you may ask. A Listeria monocytogenes outbreak first listed on June 3 did prompt on June 26, La Ceiba Foods Latin Market Inc. to recall its Requeson Salvadoreño (Ricotta Style Salvadorean Cheese) and Requeson Mexicano (Mexican Cottage Cheese) products marketed under the La Colonia and Selectos Latanios brands. But a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak with eight reported cases and first listed on July 22 has no identified source yet. I’ve covered before in Forbes the dangers of listerosis, especially when it becomes invasive.
The One Ongoing Clostridium Botulinum Outbreak
Finally, the Clostridium Botulinum outbreak first listed on June 13 has resulted in Recalled Nara Organics Whole Milk Organic Powdered Infant Formula being recalled. This encompassed products that were sold at Target retail stores, Target.com, and Nara.com sold from July 2025 and June 2026. However, the last FDA notice did indicate that “FDA is in the early stages of this investigation and further testing by FDA and state partners is underway.” Yes, this infant formula investigation may still be in its infancy. And, no, botulism is not a good thing to have, either, as I have written before in Forbes.
Eight Outbreaks Have No Source Identified Yet
Having eight different outbreaks ongoing without clear sources being identified does make it difficult for you to know what foods to avoid. Naturally, the advice can’t simply be, “Don’t eat” or even “Don’t eat any fruits and vegetables.” That wouldn’t make America healthy, would it? Therefore, there is urgency for the FDA and CDC to find out the sources and contain these sources as soon as possible. The FDA may list the status of the investigations for these “Ongoing” outbreaks as “Active.” But the ongoing question is how active are they really with all the cuts that have happened.
