K A S H R U T . C O M_©

August 29, 2025 from Food Safety News:

"The CDC has officially confirmed that is no longer tracking six of eight pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses.

"In communication with Food Safety News a spokesperson with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the agency will only track Salmonella and shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) moving forward.

"An unnamed CDC source recently told NBC News that FoodNet — the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network — activities were cut because of inadequate funding.

"Craig Hedberg, a professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota and co-director of the Minnesota Integrated Food Safety told the Center of Excellence, told the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy that the cuts to FoodNet put the nation in danger of more foodborne illnesses.

"Alvarado told Food Safety News that while FoodNet will continue surveillance for Salmonella and STEC, two of the six pathogens FoodNet will no longer track — Campylobacter spp. and invasive Listeria monocytogenes — are top causes of “foodborne illnesses and related to hospitalizations and deaths in the United States.”

"He also said there are two other pathogens included in the government’s Healthy People 2030’s goals to reduce foodborne illnesses that will no longer be tracked. FoodNet has played a crucial role in the CDC’s ability to track and investigate foorborne illness outbreaks.

"The CDC’s own estimates, based in part on FoodNet data, show that Campylobacter — which is no longer tracked — alone caused 1.9 million foodborne illness cases in the United States in 2019, beating out Salmonella and STEC. Salmonella, Campylobacter, norovirus, Listeria, and STEC caused the most deaths.

"FoodNet is a joint effort between CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and 10 state health departments. Although state health departments are no longer required to track the six pathogens cut from FoodNet, they can continue to conduct surveillance for those pathogens at their own expense.

"The Maryland Health Department told NBC News it would continue reporting for all eight pathogens regardless of changes to FoodNet. On the other hand, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said it would need to scale back surveillance for some pathogens if funding is decreased in Fiscal Year 2026."