US law to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks has been delayed for 15 years
Law was set to go into effect in January, months before cyclosporiasis outbreak, but now is set for 2028 Congress passed a law to help federal agencies investigate outbreaks of foodborne illness – a regulation experts said could have stopped the US’s largest cyclosporiasis outbreak much sooner. The only problem? The rule has been delayed – for 15 years, including most recently amid lobbying in…
A US law designed to help federal agencies investigate foodborne illness outbreaks was set to take effect in January 2026, but has been delayed for 15 years. The "traceability rule," stemming from the Food Safety and Modernization Act of 2011, aims to enhance record-keeping for high-risk foods and assist the FDA in pinpointing the source of tainted food.
However, the rule has faced resistance from food supply chain stakeholders, including retailers and food manufacturers, leading to its delayed implementation. Advocates argue that the rule could have prevented the largest cyclosporiasis outbreak in US history, which sickened over 24,000 people and killed two in the Midwest.
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