Former FDA deputy commissioner Frank Yiannas joined host Chip Flory on “AgriTalk” to discuss the latest developments in the cyclospora outbreak.
When asked how he defines control of an outbreak, Yiannas says “control is preventing contaminated product from ever making [it] into the marketplace.”
Yiannas notes that while the industry must pull product off the marketplace due to being traced to cyclospora, he says “a lack of control is not knowing what the vehicles that are causing those illnesses are, identifying them clearly and quickly and with precision and pulling them so that additional people don’t get harmed.”
Reporting has been inconsistent. Yiannas explains that many states have reported cases that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet received, causing them to be labeled “probable cases.”
Yiannas says these probable cases are just the tip of the iceberg.
“For every reported case, there are many people that may not be ill enough to go seek medical attention,” he says. “They might go to the doctor and not get tested.”
He cites a 2011 CDC report highlighting that for every reported case of cyclospora, there could be roughly 83 undiagnosed cases. Yiannas says when applying that math to this year’s outbreak, the numbers are staggering.
“If you do the math, 18,000 times 83, we could be seeing an outbreak that’s a million-plus,” he says. “It’s not to scare people, but I don’t think it’s under control by any means.”
Yiannas says the bright spots are that cyclospora is a seasonal parasite, with cases beginning in May, peaking in June and July and subsiding in August.
“So, it might be that just time in and of itself saves us and we’re going to see a natural decline in illnesses,” he says. “But this year has been a mess compared to previous years.”
Calling for an independent review, Yiannas says the industry needs to “figure out why it happened and what we can learn from it so that it doesn’t happen again in the future.”
As for identifying the source, Yiannas says the initial advisory from the FDA casts a wide net, which did not help put consumers at ease.
“We have to strengthen our ability to pinpoint sources of contamination, and I think that’s largely through better traceability,” he says.
Yiannas says people in the industry have questioned his depiction of this outbreak as “catastrophic,” but he points to both the total number of cases and the fact that the first deaths have been reported.
“This is the biggest cyclospora event that we’ve seen in my 35-year career,” he says.
He says the industry needs to understand this outbreak goes beyond a public health crisis. He points to a decline in bagged salad sales and lower foot traffic across food chains for companies completely unrelated to the investigation.
“It’s not only about real people and real health but [also about] the damage that’s being done to the trust in the nation’s food system,” he says.
Yiannas points to a slow federal response and a lack of clear leadership and communication that have unfortunately eroded some of that trust.
“Without strong communication directing the consumer what they should know, what they should do — we’re living in a day and age where social media is what they call the town square, and now everybody’s reporting on it,” he says. “The gold standard of food safety is not just good food safety; it’s also the gold standard of effective risk communication.”
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