Consumer Reports’ monthly roundup of its efforts to promote a safe and healthy food system. This month’s Food Policy Insider will cover:
Lessons Being Learned So Far on the Cyclospora Outbreak:
As the number of people sickened in the Taylor Farms Cyclospora outbreak appears to be slowing, early lessons are already emerging from the investigation. Grocery stores and restaurants often bear the economic and reputational fallout of foodborne outbreaks — social media initially mislabeled this one the “Taco Bell virus,” and packaged produce sales fell sharply during the recall. Consumer Reports says restaurants and retailers should scrutinize suppliers more rigorously, enforce strict safety standards, and be ready to change suppliers to reduce contamination risk.
CR is also calling for increased CDC and FDA funding to restore FoodNet tracking of Cyclospora and seven other pathogens the agency was forced to drop due to budget cuts, and for the food traceability rule — already delayed 17 years past its original deadline and not set to take effect until July 2028 — to move faster. CR notes that produce from a Taylor Farms international supplier — a repeat offender tied to the outbreak — meets the FDA’s own bar for its Import Alert Red List, yet the agency has not added it and hasn’t said why.
How the Infant Formula Industry Confuses State Lawmakers on Lead Testing:
Action recently stalled on a California Senate bill that would require infant formula manufacturers to test for lead and other toxic elements and disclose the results publicly, after industry pushed a weaker alternative: an annual self-attestation to European Union standards that public health experts, including CR scientists, consider inadequate. Sponsor Children Now postponed the bill until next year rather than let it be watered down; Consumer Reports and Unleaded Kids continue to support it.
In New York, a similar CR-backed testing and disclosure bill now awaits the governor’s signature, and the infant formula industry is expected to push hard for a veto. CR’s testing over the past two years has found concerning levels of heavy metals in some infant formulas and baby foods, with exposure linked to harm in child development.
Read the full August 2026 Food Policy Insider for more information on the Cyclospora outbreak learnings and infant formula safety legislation.