USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins: Falling down on the job when it comes to cyclosporiasis

 

AI-generated image of Brooke Rollins:  Manus 1.6 Lite

Graph and headline:  New York Times, 720/2026

Timothy D. Lytton opines:

Unfortunately, just when the food industry, academia and public health agencies need to up their game, they are under extraordinary pressure. The Trump administration has disrupted Department of Agriculture funding for food safety research and cut staffing in a key division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention responsible for studying parasitic disease, including cyclosporiasis. Moreover, the administration’s tariff policies and the war with Iran have increased fertilizer and fuel costs for farmers, and this may reduce their industry’s capacity to fund essential research. 

Perhaps the worst blow to food safety science was the administration’s elimination of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods, a group of experts whose recommendations have informed many major food safety programs. According to the Western Growers Association, a leading fresh produce industry group, that committee was a vital source of “objective and credible scientific recommendations for regulators and the food industry that ultimately impact consumer health.” In abolishing the committee, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed the panel was “no longer necessary.”

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