Outbreaks threaten HHS ‘real food’ agenda 

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The Hill's Headlines — August 15, 2026

The Hill's Headlines — August 15, 2026

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants America to “eat real food” as a solution to the chronic disease epidemic, but that message is being lost amid outbreaks of foodborne illness and a health agency that has struggled with effectively tracking the sources and messaging about safety. 

This summer has seen a record number of cyclosporiasis infections, with nearly 30,000 illnesses and two deaths. Other foodborne outbreaks have also emerged in recent months affecting fresh produce. 

And Taylor Farms – the company at the center of the cyclospora outbreak – has now recalled prepared salsa, guacamole and other products containing jalapeños connected to a multistate salmonella outbreak.   

While there are food illness outbreaks every year, the scale of what’s happening now combined with the Trump administration’s struggle to prevent them is leading to a crisis in consumer confidence that could undermine the administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.  

“I think what we’re seeing is both the reality that we’ve got more outbreaks, and you’ve got the perceptual problem, and so that’s translating into consumers being increasingly concerned about fresh produce,” said Susan Mayne, the former director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. 

Instead of fresh food, consumers opt for products that are more shelf-stable and less likely to be at risk for microbial contamination. 

“So that directly undermines the goals of trying to get consumers onto real food,” Mayne said.  

Any outbreak of foodborne illness requires careful public communication, experts said. There needs to be a balance in telling people which products to avoid without causing a panic and scaring people away from eating fresh vegetables.  

But many Americans are continuing to wonder what they are supposed to do. They don’t........

© The Hill