Recent foodborne illnesses underscore need to better address food safety

DENVER — After a summer of high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness, more than half the Americans surveyed in a recent poll said they have “not so much” or no confidence in government oversight of food safety in the United States. With that in mind, public interest advocates with CoPIRG launched a new campaign on Thursday to call for federal and state leaders to better protect Coloradans from getting sick. 

“We should be able to assume that the food we buy is safe. The number of foodborne illness outbreaks this year is unacceptable,” said Danny Katz, executive director for CoPIRG, a statewide consumer watchdog. “The government should be doing more, not less, to fix this problem. The last thing we should be doing right now is cutting support for food safety systems and delaying rules that could get contaminated food off our shelves and our plates.”  

So far in 2026, about a dozen different types of food have been linked to foodborne illnesses. Other illnesses remain a mystery: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigators have not yet traced  the source of eight outbreaks in 2026 to a specific type of food.  

According to data from the CDC, Coloradans have been impacted most this year by Salmonella-contaminated jalapeno peppers, which has sickened 118 Coloradans (second most of any state). Salmonella traced back to moringa powder and eggs made other Coloradans sick. 

Nationally, contaminated lettuce has driven the largest U.S. cyclospora outbreak in history. Combined, five separate cyclospora outbreaks this summer, as of Sept. 8, made nearly 20,000 people sick, hospitalized more than a thousand and killed two people across 49 states.

Stronger traceability recordkeeping would help companies and health officials better identify, when recalled foods suspected of causing illness are ingredients in other products, for example, the iceberg lettuce in the Taylor Farms pre-packaged salads. However, the federal government has delayed the implementation of a Food Traceability Rule that was supposed to go into effect on Jan. 20, 2026, until July 2028. 

CoPIRG is calling on Congress to reinstate the effective date so that the policy begins immediately and to reverse direction on funding and inspections. Adequate inspections may have prevented the cyclospora outbreak and other outbreaks. Adequate resources could also allow more testing of food before it makes people sick, pay for more investigators to interview patients and provide more technicians to process lab results more quickly.

“It is not OK to wait nearly two more years to take steps to reduce illnesses and deaths,” said Katz. “We all know about the food system dangers — such as bacterial contamination, overuse of antibiotics and overuse of pesticides — that impose crushing costs on public health. It’s absurd that we aren’t investing upfront in preventing and mitigating these threats.” 

CoPIRG is also encouraging Colorado to examine its own food safety network, from inspectors to labs, and identify ways to make up for federal cuts. State leaders should consider:

• Increasing funding for state laboratories to make sure local testing labs that track foodborne pathogens have adequate funds.
• Ensuring that Colorado health departments regularly inspect local farms, food processors, grocery stores and restaurants.

And CoPIRG offers the following advice to Coloradans to keep their families safe:

• Monitor food recalls and make sure you are informed quickly if food you purchased may be part of a recall. CoPIRG offers a guide for signing up for recall information here. 
• Follow these easy food safety steps to help you avoid getting sick from many types of food contamination or food poisoning including cleaning and cooking items most likely to contain pathogens.