SUNDAY READ
This is a special edition of the Snopes newsletter. Today, we’re investigating a claim that Project 2025 inspired changes to U.S. food safeguards, causing widespread foodborne illness outbreaks.
Foodborne illnesses swept the US this summer. Is Project 2025 to blame?
Cyclosporiasis, E. coli and salmonella outbreaks have sickened thousands of people in the U.S. this summer, prompting widespread fears about food safety.
Some people online suggested Project 2025 — a road map for running the country created by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank — is to blame for the wave of illnesses, claiming it calls for lower food safety standards. The posts also imply that the Trump administration implemented the initiative’s proposals.
To find the truth, we dug into the roughly 1,000-page document at the heart of Project 2025 and highlighted changes to federal agencies tasked with food safety.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the larger findings from our exclusive report:
The document doesn’t explicitly call for large-scale rollbacks of food safety rules or major budget and staffing cuts for the USDA and FDA.
However, it proposes changing regulations for three specific products and includes a vague recommendation to limit the USDA's oversight role — all of which we unpack in our investigation.
Separately, the Trump administration, which has repeatedly distanced itself from Project 2025, has made sweeping changes to USDA and FDA operations. We dug into whether any of these changes threaten food safety.
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