This past weekend, with my kiddos' help, I fully embraced my own '90s summer: I went down many a water slide — including the one I was too scared to tackle as a kid (and yes, as an elder millennial, I had some aches and pains the next day). We took a bike ride around town with no place to be (though I wish they made bikes like this for adults), and I enjoyed a few of my favorite summer snacks before they leave Trader Joe's shelves. We rounded it all out by watching Top Gun (the original, of course), and kudos to the Maverick look-alike who threw out the first pitch at Friday night's San Francisco Giants game. So, I'm looking to carry all of this childlike awe into this week, and maybe Wednesday's total solar eclipse will do the trick? Here's how to watch safely — and a reminder to not follow this example. Now, let's get to today's headlines...
— Marina Carver / Senior Editor / Johnson City, TN
US News
Dinner, With Reservations
What the fork is going on?: At this point, it might be easier to ask what we can eat. The FDA is tracking 11 active foodborne illness outbreaks around the country as of Friday. Yes, cyclospora has already come for summer’s easiest lunch, with outbreaks tied to iceberg lettuce distributed across 41 states (we really just want our emotional-support Caesar salad back). But lettuce is hardly alone. A salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeños has sickened 345 people across 27 states. Recent investigations have also involved eggs and salmonella and frozen fruit and E.coli. This summer certain soft cheeses have been linked to a listeria outbreak that killed one person and hospitalized 10 others. And the FDA still hasn’t identified the specific causes of several active outbreaks. So, pizza for dinner then?
But why is this happening?: While better genetic sequencing and nationwide surveillance help health officials connect cases across states that once might have looked unrelated, there's still reason to side-eye the system and wonder if our food is less safe. A Government Accountability Office report says the FDA has missed mandated inspection targets since 2018. That doesn’t mean fewer inspections caused these outbreaks, but experts warn that fewer resources can mean fewer chances to catch a problem before it reaches your cart. What actually stays on the menu? You don’t need to blacklist an entire aisle. Recalls typically target a specific brand, product, lot, or date, so check the fine print before you purge the fridge entirely. And if you can’t quit jonesing for your salad, here’s what experts say about whether lettuce is “safe” yet.
