Food Safety Advocate Proposes 'Project 2027' to Revitalize U.S. Food Safety Standards
A prominent food safety advocate has introduced 'Project 2027,' a comprehensive agenda aimed at revitalizing U.S. food safety. The advocate highlights a series of setbacks in federal food safety oversight over the past two years. These include the USDA withdrawing its Salmonella framework for raw poultry in April 2025, the CDC cutting its FoodNet pathogen surveillance system from eight to two pathogens in July 2025, and the Justice Department eliminating its Consumer Protection Branch in September 2025. Additionally, a law in November 2025 barred the FDA from enforcing its traceability rule before July 2028. These changes have coincided with significant outbreaks, such as the largest Cyclospora outbreak in U.S. history and botulism cases in infants linked to powdered formula, which federal rules do not require testing for. The advocate argues that many of these rollbacks were administrative and can be reversed.
