FDA's foreign produce inspections fall dangerously short, fueling multistate outbreaks

The FDA has inspected just 7.6% of the foreign facilities supplying 90% of U.S. produce since 2009 — and for Mexico, the top source of imported produce, that figure drops to a mere 2%. A Washington Post investigation combining FDA inspection and import records laid bare a system struggling to keep pace with America's growing reliance on food imports, with fresh vegetable imports rising from 17% to 34% and fresh fruit from 46% to 59% over the past two decades.

The consequences became impossible to ignore this summer. A cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico — a facility federal inspectors hadn't visited in seven years — became the largest known outbreak of the parasitic gut infection in U.S. history. A separate Salmonella outbreak tied to jalapeño peppers sickened hundreds more. As of late October, the CDC was actively tracking 29 multistate foodborne illness investigations.

By the Numbers:

• 7.6% — share of foreign produce facilities inspected by the FDA since 2009
• 12,883 — people sickened in the cyclosporiasis outbreak across 21 states
• 570+ — hospitalizations; 2 deaths linked to the outbreak
• ~500 — people sickened in the jalapeño-linked Salmonella outbreak
• 1,024 — foreign food inspections completed by the FDA in 2025, vs. a 19,200/year goal set in 2011
• $9M — additional funding the FDA is requesting from Congress for foreign inspections

Why it matters: With Americans eating more imported produce than ever — much of it consumed raw — gaps in federal oversight create real and recurring risks for consumers. Chronic underfunding, staffing cuts, and limited inspection capacity mean the safety net has significant holes. The FDA is pushing for more funding and fee-collection authority, but until those changes materialize, the system remains vulnerable.