The largest Cyclospora outbreak in U.S. history is over, according to an anonymous federal official who told a reporter before anyone told the public. The CDC’s own outbreak page still says “open.” In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop, Matt and Francine dig into the numbers nobody’s updating and ask a question they’ve never asked in 185 episodes: is this incompetence, or something worse?

This episode breaks down the outbreak data agencies stopped counting, the consumer trust numbers still falling, and the case for and against a full-blown conspiracy.

In this episode:

💩 00:00:00 Cyclospora Outbreak Declared “Over” 

💩 00:08:21 The Outbreak Numbers Nobody’s Updating

💩 00:11:19 Consumer Confidence In Free Fall

💩 00:13:03 Congress Sends 13 Letters, Gets Zero Cyclospora Outbreak Answers

💩 00:16:05 Incompetence or Food Safety Conspiracy

💩 00:20:54 Is The Whole Food System Broken?

💩 00:23:08 Could Someone Be Weaponizing A Broken System?

💩 00:36:45 How Matt Got A Broken Industry To Adopt Compliance

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Check out Bill Marler’s article discussed in this episode:

Unnamed Federal Officials Told the Washington Post They Are About to Declare the Largest Cyclospora Outbreak in U.S. History Over. The National Count Is Still Climbing, 8,137 Confirmed Illnesses Have No Named Source, and Congress Is Still Waiting for an Answer.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“If you don’t count [the victims], they don’t matter. They don’t exist.” – Francine L Shaw

“This is either absolute pure incompetence, or it’s a conspiracy, and I could believe in both, or both simultaneously.” – Matt Regusci

Connect with Francine, Matt, and the “Don’t Eat Poop!” show on LinkedIn! 

Check out Francine’s book Who Watches the Kitchen? on Amazon!