The International Fresh Produce Association has submitted formal comments to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending that federal Cyclospora outbreak investigations look beyond food to include drinking water, recreational water and occupational exposures.
The Washington, D.C.-based association filed the comments in response to CDC’s proposed extension of the Cyclosporiasis National Hypothesis Generating Questionnaire, the instrument investigators use to develop leads in the early stages of an outbreak.
The recommendations arrive with the 2026 cyclosporiasis season still unresolved. Roughly 18,000 confirmed or probable cases have been reported in 45 states since May 1, according to CDC data as of July 28, including 6,707 confirmed cases and another 11,500 under investigation. CDC has tied one multistate outbreak to iceberg lettuce, and Taylor Farms recalled iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico on July 17. Michigan health officials announced the first two U.S. deaths connected to the outbreak on Aug. 3, noting both people had underlying health conditions that may have been affected by the illness and dehydration.
“Protecting public health and finding the source of outbreaks as quickly as possible are goals we all share,” said Max Teplitski, chief science officer at IFPA. “The best way to achieve that is to ensure investigators systematically consider all likely routes of exposure.”
What IFPA asked CDC to consider
The association urged CDC to add structured questions to the questionnaire covering:
- Drinking water sources
- Recreational water activities
- Wastewater-related exposures
- Septic systems
- Other environmental factors that may affect how the parasite spreads as environmental and climatic conditions change
IFPA also encouraged CDC to revisit unresolved historical investigations and to evaluate wastewater surveillance as an additional tool for tracking how Cyclospora circulates through communities.
Ongoing industry engagement
IFPA said it has stayed in contact with federal and state officials, industry leaders, food safety experts and supply chain partners during the current response, providing members with updates, technical resources, FAQs and expert briefings.
“We need to see this outbreak end and its root cause or causes identified. Looking to the future, we need to expand our thinking about this parasite and seriously consider other routes of exposure that are likely, but have been traditionally less common in the U.S.,” Teplitski said. “We will continue advocating for investigations that are guided by data, informed by science so we can prevent future outbreaks and maintain consumer and industry trust in public health systems.”
IFPA said it welcomes continued dialogue with CDC and other public health partners as the agency reviews comments.
IFPA sharpens supply chain focus
Separately, IFPA announced that it is deepening its work on traceability, data sharing and industry standards, with Director of Supply Chain Erik Larsen leading the effort.
Much of that work centers on FSMA 204, the FDA’s food traceability rule, whose compliance date the FDA extended by 30 months. Larsen said leading retailers have continued planning for compliance despite the delay. According to IFPA, FDA investigations today can take roughly 35 days, slowed by paperwork and manual records, while full digitization could cut that to as few as five days and narrow the scope of recalls.
“From a business standpoint, it’s about reducing the scope of a recall,” Larsen said. “If you have effective traceability in place, you can say confidently, ‘we only need to recall this amount of produce,’ not what we’re doing today. That is going to be a huge return on investment for the industry.”
IFPA represents companies across the global fresh fruit, vegetable and floral supply chain, including growers, shippers, fresh-cut processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators and industry suppliers.