In July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dramatically, but quietly, scaled a surveillance system for food safety, so that actively tracking was reduced from eight Foodborne infections to just two, according to a report from NBC News.
The Network (Foodnet) – a network of surveillance sites that include 10 states and approximately 54 million Americans (16 percent of the American population) – by Food Borne Diseases Active Surveillance (Foodnet) – included carefully active monitoring for eight infections of pathogens. That include Campylobacter” Cyclospora” Listeria” SalmonellaShiga Toxin Producing E. Coli (Stec), Shigella” VibrioAnd Yersinia.
Now the network is only monitoring on STEC and Salmonella.
A list of talk points that the CDC sent the Connecticut Health Department (which is part of Foodnet) suggested that a lack of financing is behind the scaleback. “Financing has not kept pace with the means needed to maintain the continuation of Foodnet surveillance for all eight pathogens,” said the CDC document, according to NBC. The Trump government has made brutal cuts for federal agencies, including the CDC, which this year has lost hundreds of employees.
A CDC spokesperson said the outlet that “Although Foodnet will limit his focus to Salmonella and STEC, it will maintain both his infrastructure and the quality it has been represented. The Foodnet and associated activities will enable Foodnet employees to give priority to core activities.”
