The infant botulism outbreak that sickened dozens of babies who drank ByHeart formula is a reminder of how vulnerable we all are to the companies that sell us food — and how important it is to have a robust food safety system that responds quickly to problems and prevents illness in the first place.
But federal cuts this year will leave more people exposed to potential foodborne illness in the future, food safety experts predict. The changes they say will degrade U.S. food safety include the reduced number of pathogens now monitored by a key surveillance program, brain drain of the foodborne illness staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration amid low morale and overwork, and cuts to the administrative staff who support FDA inspectors, which agency officials say has already led to a historic low in inspections of foreign facilities that import food to the U.S.
