Tell Big Grocers: Demand Washington Reverse Food Safety Cuts

Today, families in 26 states are being warned to check their refrigerators after another massive Taylor Farms recall spread across some of America’s biggest grocery chains.

Guacamole, salsa, dips, sandwiches, and other foods sold at Walmart, Kroger, Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and other stores were recalled because they contained jalapeños that could be contaminated with Salmonella.

This crisis started after Trump’s administration cut thousands of public-health workers, including staff involved in food safety and outbreak response. The CDC lab that helps respond to Cyclospora outbreaks was slashed from 11 people to just three.

Major grocers and their lobbyists shouldn't be surprised when cuts to inspection and regulatory agencies let outbreaks multiply, and they shouldn't sit on the sidelines while this crisis gets worse.

Tell America’s biggest grocers: Use your lobbying power to demand that Trump reverse his food-safety cuts now and restore the inspectors, scientists, and public-health experts who keep our food safe.

American families should not be the food industry’s outbreak-detection system.

Walmart, Kroger, Target, Amazon/Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and the Food Industry Association know how to make Washington listen when their profits are at stake. Now they need to fight just as hard to restore the food-safety protections Trump weakened.

Big grocers should demand that the administration reverse staffing cuts at the FDA and CDC, restore outbreak-response capacity, and give regulators enough people and resources to inspect facilities, trace contaminated food, and catch dangerous products before they reach our kitchens.

If Big Grocery can lobby Washington to protect its profits, it can lobby Washington to protect our food.

Add your name and demand that America’s biggest grocers tell Trump: Reverse the food-safety cuts and rebuild the system that keeps families safe.

The petition to Walmart, Kroger, Target, Amazon/Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and the Food Industry Association reads:

“Use your influence in Washington to demand that Trump reverse his food-safety cuts, restore critical FDA and CDC staffing, and fully fund the inspectors and scientists needed to stop contaminated food before it reaches our families.”