Former Trump FDA food safety official calls federal cyclospora response near-catastrophic

Frank Yiannas, who served under both Trump and Biden, calls for an independent review of the outbreak handling

Frank Yiannas, the former deputy commissioner for food policy at the Food and Drug Administration, said the Trump administration’s handling of the cyclospora outbreak is approaching a catastrophic level of mismanagement and called for an independent review of the federal government’s response.

Yiannas, who served across both the Trump and Biden administrations from 2018 to 2023, told Politico that the outbreak “is starting to approach a catastrophic level in terms of how mismanaged it’s been on multiple fronts.”

“This one deserves a lot of questions,” Yiannas said.

The former FDA official said widespread public confusion about cyclosporiasis — an intestinal illness caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis that can cause explosive diarrhea — has been compounded by a “lack of strong federal leadership” and mixed messages from federal agencies.

Yiannas called for an independent review of the government’s response, either through congressional oversight or conducted by an independent inspector. The FDA did not immediately respond to his call for an investigation of its actions, according to The Guardian.

The outbreak has sickened more than 4,000 people in the United States, with thousands more thought to have been affected. The FDA has expanded its investigation into 7,400 potential cases across nine states.

The federal response has been marked by backtracking. The FDA initially identified lettuce from Taylor Farms, a supplier to Taco Bell, as being linked to the outbreak, only to then reverse course. Taylor Farms has said the FDA apologized to the company for the initial identification — a claim the FDA has denied. The federal food regulator still maintains there is strong evidence connecting Taylor Farms, which has recalled its lettuce, to the outbreak.

“They just went too fast and they made a mistake,” Yiannas said of the FDA. “They should share more about how and why it happened and what they’ll do to prevent it in the future.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. health secretary, said last week that the outbreak was “under control,” even as the FDA continued to expand its investigation. MSI previously reported that Kennedy’s assessment came as the FDA maintained the epidemiological link to Taylor Farms, while also telling the company one test result was a false positive.