Lettuce, jalapenos, guacamole, eggs, frozen fruit — these are all foods with current open FDA investigations due to suspected foodborne illnesses. Broad news coverage of some of these, like the Cyclospora outbreak tied to lettuce, may leave some Americans questioning what they can and can’t eat.
Illnesses like Cyclospora, Salmonella and E. coli have popped up around the country since the start of the year, with outbreaks affecting as few as a handful of people and as many as hundreds.
So why does it seem like there are so many more outbreaks this year? And how does 2026 compare to years past?
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Ongoing outbreaks and investigations
AS of Aug. 28, the FDA has 19 open investigations into foodborne illness outbreaks. Of those, seven are Cyclospora outbreaks. The products linked to those seven are all unknown except one: the iceberg lettuce-originated outbreak impacting stores and states across the country.
According to the latest FDA update, that specific Cyclospora outbreak alone has sickened 11,458 people across 20 states. It has led to the Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce recall and is still under investigation. All the Cyclospora outbreaks added together, however, result in more than 17,000 Americans sickened with the illness.
Beyond Cyclospora, six Salmonella outbreaks remain open. One has been tied to jalapeno peppers, another to eggs, and one to moringa leaf powder. The other three have unknown origins as of Friday.
The jalapeno-originated Salmonella outbreak has sickened 431 people across 32 states. Meanwhile, the egg-related outbreak has sickened 98 people, and the leaf powder-tied outbreak has sickened 131.
Then there are the E. coli outbreaks. Three ongoing investigations into E. coli outbreaks are underway, one tied to frozen blueberries and another to alfalfa sprouts.
And finally, there are two Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks, one tied to ricotta cheese and another not yet identified, and a Clostridium botulinum outbreak tied to powdered instant baby formula.
This year compared to years past
With a total of 19 foodborne illness outbreaks so far this year, you may be wondering how this compares to 2025, 2024 or other years.
As Straight Arrow previously reported, the FDA appears to have investigated more multistate foodborne illness outbreaks so far in 2026 than during the same period in recent years.
By year’s end, the FDA investigated 26 outbreaks in both 2024 and 2025, so the U.S. would need seven more in the next few months to match or surpass those numbers.
Actual case numbers, however, are harder to quantify. For example, improvements in diagnostic testing have made it easier to identify infections that may previously have gone undetected.
However, Cyclospora case numbers have risen well above recent years, with more than 17,000 cases in 2026, compared to 4,500 in 2023 and 3,500 in 2024.
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