Few US fruits and vegetables inspected despite ‘explosive diarrhea’ outbreak
The FDA inspected only 7.6 percent of foreign produce facilities over the last decade, leaving millions of tons of imported fruits and vegetables unchecked each year
The vast majority of fresh produce imported into the United States enters the market without physical inspection by federal health regulators, a recent report byThe Washington Post found.
Despite a steady rise in foreign produce consumption, the Food and Drug Administration monitors only a tiny fraction of international growing facilities. The lack of oversight came into focus this summer when a widespread outbreak of a foodborne parasite caused severe illness across the country, leaving thousands of Americans with explosive diarrhea.
Federal health officials linked the massive cyclosporiasis outbreak — which sickened nearly 13,000 people and hospitalized hundreds — to contaminated iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. According to agency records, the FDA had not inspected the supplier’s Mexican operations in seven years.
Under a 2011 mandate, Congress directed the agency to increase foreign inspections to 19,200 annually. However, the FDA completed just 1,024 foreign food visits last year, representing roughly 5 percent of its target.
Former officials cited chronic underfunding, severe understaffing and high travel costs as key causes, with oversight dropping even further after federal cuts in early 2025 briefly disrupted international travel planning.
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The gap in inspections is largest in Mexico, which supplies the vast majority of U.S. imported produce, including 96 percent of berries and more than 60 percent of leafy greens and peppers. Out of all major foreign produce facilities exporting to the U.S., the FDA has inspected just 7.6 percent since 2009 — and only about 2 percent of facilities in Mexico.
The FDA argued that site visits are just one component of its strategy, which also includes border testing, record audits and predictive algorithms.
Industry representatives added that foreign growers are legally bound to follow U.S. safety rules. But food safety advocates warned that physical testing at the border catches only a sliver of imports, leaving raw produce vulnerable to contaminated water and machinery.
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“We don’t have a robust system in place to go verify that these foreign producers are following the rules,” Sarah Sorscher, regulatory affairs director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told The Washington Post, “and that’s a big concern for anybody who eats food in America.”
Former agency officials noted the difficulty of monitoring global supply chains with limited funding.
“It’s an enormous challenge and undertaking, in all fairness,” Frank Yiannas, a former FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response, told the publication. “Can you imagine saying, ‘We want you to screen and provide oversight of all the food in a global supply chain and ensure it’s safe’?”
Imports now account for 59 percent of fresh fruit and 34 percent of fresh vegetables eaten in the U.S., driven by year-round demand and higher domestic labor costs. Yet despite public health scares, legal experts say that Congress has taken little action to increase funding.
“This is like a Jack-in-the-Box-level event,” prominent food safety attorney Bill Marler told The Washington Post, referencing a major 1990s outbreak.
Apart from a few official letters to regulatory agencies, Marler said the overall response has been minimal.
“It’s been pretty silent,” he said. “It is sort of bizarrely shocking.”