Federal health officials have sharply reduced the scope of a long-running program that monitors food poisoning infections across the United States.
The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, or FoodNet, will now require participating health departments to track just two pathogens—Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed. Previously, the network tracked eight.
The change, which took effect in July, affects 10 states that participate in the joint state-federal program. According to the CDC, the two pathogens that remain under mandatory surveillance are among the nation’s leading causes of foodborne illness, hospitalizations, and deaths.
Surveillance for six other germs—Campylobacter, Cyclospora, Listeria, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia—will now be optional.
CDC spokesperson Paul Prince said the decision allows FoodNet staff to “prioritize core activities” and manage resources more effectively. It is unclear whether the shift is tied to federal budget reductions made under the Trump administration.
However, food safety experts warn that the rollback could hinder outbreak detection and obscure national trends in foodborne illness.
“Long term, it will affect our ability to use surveillance data to better understand risks in the food supply,” said Carlota Medus, who leads the foodborne diseases unit at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Medus noted that while laboratories and hospitals must still report confirmed infections, relying on passive reporting rather than active surveillance risks missing cases. “FoodNet doesn’t just count cases. The FoodNet sites collect robust data that contribute to the understanding of certain infections,” she said.
FoodNet operates in Minnesota, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, and select counties in California and New York.
Created in 1995, FoodNet is a partnership between the CDC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and participating states. The network has historically covered about 16% of the U.S. population, providing critical data to estimate infection rates.
Frank Yiannas, a food safety expert and former FDA official, said the cutbacks could weaken the nation’s ability to assess progress in reducing foodborne illness. “We won’t know as accurately as possible if we’re getting better or worse in respect to certain pathogens,” he said.
