A Growing Threat: How Declining FDA Foreign Inspections May Have Fueled the Latest Cyclospora Outbreak

When the first patients began reporting stomach cramps, watery diarrhea, and relentless fatigue last month, doctors initially suspected a routine food‑borne bug. It didn’t take long for lab tests to identify Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that thrives in fresh produce and can linger for weeks if left untreated.

What’s striking, however, is not just the parasite itself but the pattern behind it. Over the past two years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has logged a sharp uptick in Cyclospora cases, most of them tied to bagged salads and cilantro that originated far from American soil.

Enter the Food and Drug Administration. For decades, the agency sent teams of inspectors to foreign factories, packing houses, and farms—essentially a global watchdog making sure that the food crossing our borders met U.S. safety standards. But those visits have been dwindling. According to FDA internal data obtained by the Globe, the number of overseas inspections fell by roughly 30 percent between 2022 and 2025.

Why the decline? A mix of budget shortfalls, staffing challenges, and lingering travel restrictions from the pandemic created a perfect storm. “We’ve had to prioritize certain high‑risk facilities, which means many smaller, but still significant, producers aren’t getting the same level of scrutiny,” said an FDA spokesperson who preferred to remain anonymous.

That gap matters. The most recent Cyclospora cluster appears linked to a processing plant in Central America that hasn’t seen an FDA audit since early 2023. Inside, sources claim that sanitation protocols were loosely enforced and that water used for rinsing greens was not regularly tested for parasites.

Public‑health officials are now scrambling to contain the spread. The CDC has issued advisories urging consumers to wash fresh produce thoroughly, even if it’s pre‑washed, and to consider cooking leafy greens when possible—a step that would kill the parasite.

Meanwhile, consumer groups are pressing Congress for more robust funding for the FDA’s Office of International Operations. “We can’t afford to let inspections slip,” argued a spokesperson for the Food Safety Advocacy Network. “Every missed visit is a potential gateway for disease.”

It’s a reminder that food safety isn’t just about what happens on a plate; it’s also about the unseen inspections that happen half a world away. As the United States continues to import more of its fresh fruits and vegetables, the need for vigilant, well‑funded oversight becomes less of a bureaucratic nicety and more of a public‑health imperative.

For now, the best defense remains simple: wash, cook when you can, and stay alert to any lingering symptoms. If you suspect you’ve been infected, a short course of antibiotics can clear the parasite, but early detection is key.