The United States has quietly scaled back a cornerstone of its food safety infrastructure, leaving public health experts and advocates deeply concerned about the nation’s ability to detect and respond to outbreaks of foodborne illness. As of July 1, 2025, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network—better known as FoodNet—has reduced its monitoring from eight major foodborne pathogens to just two: salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), according to an NBC News report and statements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
For nearly three decades, FoodNet has been the nation’s leading active surveillance system for foodborne diseases, tracking infections caused by pathogens such as campylobacter, cyclospora, listeria, shigella, vibrio, and Yersinia. These pathogens, while less familiar to the general public than salmonella or E. coli, can cause severe or even life-threatening illnesses—especially for newborns, pregnant individuals, and those with weakened immune systems. According to CDC data cited by Food Safety Magazine, campylobacter alone was responsible for an estimated 1.9 million foodborne illness cases in the U.S. in 2019, outpacing both salmonella and STEC. Listeria, though less common, is particularly deadly: in 2024, a national outbreak linked to deli meats resulted in 10 deaths from just 61 cases.
The decision to scale back FoodNet’s scope was not made lightly. A CDC spokesperson explained that “monitoring all eight pathogens is no longer federally required of the 10 states participating in FoodNet.” The spokesperson added, “Although FoodNet will narrow its focus to Salmonella and STEC, it will maintain both its infrastructure and the quality it has come to represent. Narrowing FoodNet’s reporting requirements and associated activities will allow FoodNet staff to prioritize core activities.”
The heart of the issue, however, is money. In a memo provided to the Connecticut Public Health Department and reviewed by NBC News, the CDC made clear: “Funding has not kept pace with the resources required to maintain the continuation of FoodNet surveillance for all eight pathogens.” The CDC’s budget request for food safety in fiscal year 2026 stands at $72 million, about the same as in previous years, despite rising costs and inflation.
FoodNet is a collaboration among the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and health departments in 10 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, and select counties in California and New York. This network covers approximately 54 million Americans—about 16% of the U.S. population. While states are no longer required to monitor the six pathogens dropped from FoodNet, they are free to continue surveillance independently if they have the resources. Maryland, for example, has pledged to keep reporting all eight pathogens, but Colorado has warned it may need to reduce its efforts if funding falls in the 2026 fiscal year.
The move has alarmed food safety experts. Dr. J. Glenn Morris, director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida and a co-creator of FoodNet, did not mince words: “Essentially, CDC is backing off on one of their best surveillance systems.” He warned that paring down FoodNet could pave the way for a rollback of food safety regulations, saying, “If you want to make foodborne disease go away, then don’t look for foodborne disease. And then you can cheerfully eliminate all of your foodborne disease regulations. My concern is that that is the path down which we appear to be heading.”
Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, echoed these concerns. Kowalcyk, who became an advocate after her son died from a foodborne E. coli infection, called the decision “very disappointing.” She told NBC News, “A lot of the work that I and many, many, many, many other people have put into improving food safety over the past 20 or 30 years is just going away.” She pointed to a federal budget for food safety that has failed to keep up with inflation, as well as previous cuts to state health department funding, as factors undermining progress in foodborne illness prevention.
While the CDC notes that other systems—such as the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System and the Listeria Initiative—continue to monitor the six pathogens dropped from FoodNet, these systems are passive. That means they rely on state health departments to notify the CDC of cases, rather than actively seeking out and tracking infections. Food safety experts warn that without active surveillance, it will be much harder to spot rising trends or new outbreaks in real time. As one expert told NBC News, FoodNet is “the only surveillance system that actively looks for multiple foodborne diseases at the federal level.”
The effects of the change are already being felt at the state level. The Oregon and Connecticut health departments said they were aware of the changes, while the Georgia Public Health Department reported it had not received official notice. New Mexico’s health officials are awaiting further instructions from the CDC. In Maryland, health care providers and laboratories will continue to report all eight pathogens, regardless of FoodNet’s adjustments.
Meanwhile, the White House has sought to reassure the public. Spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement, “The health and safety of the American people is the Administration’s utmost priority. USDA, HHS, FDA, and the CDC will continue to cooperate and maintain the highest vigilance to safeguard our food supply against pathogens.”
Despite these assurances, the reduction in FoodNet’s scope marks a significant shift in the nation’s approach to food safety. Experts worry that, with fewer resources and less comprehensive data, the country may struggle to detect outbreaks in time to prevent widespread illness. There are also concerns that the move could signal a broader retreat from food safety regulation, especially if states lack the funding to pick up the slack left by the federal government.
Foodborne illnesses remain a serious public health threat in the United States, with millions of cases and thousands of deaths each year. The changes to FoodNet underscore the challenges of maintaining robust surveillance in an era of tight budgets and shifting priorities. For now, the burden of vigilance may increasingly fall on state health departments—and on advocates determined not to let decades of progress slip away.
