Should We Be Afraid of Our Food?
T he cyclosporiasis outbreak that has garnered so much attention in recent months is unquestionably bad news.
People have been sickened in at least 48 states, and the number of lab-confirmed cases—about 17,000—represents only a fraction of the number of people who have been infected by the parasite.
But as foodborne illnesses go, a cyclospora infection—most likely caused in this instance by the consumption of iceberg lettuce contaminated with human feces—is relatively mild: unpleasant but rarely life-threatening.
The two people who have died during the current outbreak had serious underlying conditions.
Other foodborne pathogens are far more dangerous.
More than 1 million Americans are sickened by Salmonella every year; invasive, potentially life- threatening infections occur in about 8 percent of lab-confirmed cases, and cause meningitis, sepsis, and other serious complications.
A botulism infection can cause paralysis, seizures, nerve damage, lung damage, and brain damage, as well as death.
A few years ago, I reported here on an outbreak of Cronobacter infections linked to powdered infant formula and the subsequent recall by Abbott Nutrition.
Two recent botulism outbreaks linked to powdered infant formula made by two other companies have thus far received little attention.
During an outbreak that peaked in November 2025, at least 48 infants across 17 states were stricken with botulism traced to powdered formula from the company ByHeart.
The infants were hospitalized with severe complications; one of them suffered multiple strokes.
Then, earlier this year, at least four infants in three states were stricken with botulism from powdered formula made by the company Nara Organics.
All four infants were hospitalized. [ Read: The worst part of the cyclosporiasis response ] A key ingredient in the tainted formula sold by both companies was milk powder from a common supplier —the likely carrier of the botulism spores.
Today’s powdered formula is highly industrialized, with dozens of ingredients from multiple sources.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.theatlantic.com — the content belongs to The Atlantic.
