Madison Moore
October 16, 2026
2026 seems to be the year of the FDA recalls, from lettuce to eggs to frozen berries, Americans have been terrorized by new food recalls every day. As of September 13th, over 1,000 recalls have been made, and the nation is experiencing its largest recorded Cyclospora outbreak linked to contaminated foods [1] [2]. Some can’t help but wonder if there is a correlation between the recalls and the newly appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy Jr., who has no medical or public health training and instead has a background in legal work, was appointed by Donald Trump for the position after his inauguration. Since then, experts have raised their concerns over his policies [3] [4]. Kennedy has been an outspoken voice against vaccines, spreading the misconception that vaccines cause autism, despite that being disproven, as shown by research in the European Journal of Paediatric Neurology [5]. Moreover, Kennedy is the founder and former chairman of the Children’s Health Defense, which is an anti-vaccination group that spread misinformation on COVID-19 vaccines during and after the pandemic [5] [6].
In May of 2025, Kennedy announced that the CDC would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, which was heavily questioned by public health experts [7] [8]. Lawrence Gostin, a public health law professor from Georgetown University, says, “At least in the immediate or intermediate future, the United States is going to be hobbled and hollowed out in its scientific leadership. I think it will be extraordinarily difficult to reverse all the damage” [7]. The next month, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC vaccine advisory committee and replaced them with a new group that included multiple vaccine skeptics [6]. Moreover, in November of 2025, he personally directed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism, despite no evidence to support this change [6] [8]. In recent news, an outbreak of the Measles has been seen throughout Pennsylvania, a disease which was once eradicated in the United States for decades [8]. Health officials have reported that the majority of the 1,100 confirmed cases are from unvaccinated individuals [9].
Kennedy’s questionable policies extend beyond vaccines. He has popularized a movement known as “Make America Healthy Again” that promotes “real food” above processed foods [8] [9]. But there’s a reason food has become heavily regulated in the 20th and 21st century. Food processing is the method of turning raw plant and animal materials into safe, edible, and stable food products. The preservatives that are put into items on the shelves of grocery stores are meant to improve the quality and safety of the foods by preventing the growth of harmful bacteria from the products before they ever reach the plates of millions of Americans. Kennedy claims they are acting against “ultra-processed foods”; however, the HHS still has not released an established definition of “ultra-processed foods” [10]. Despite this, the HHS has released updated dietary guidelines that focus on reducing such “ultra-processed foods” [10].
HHS has also cut thousands of workers for essential food programs, including that of the Food Net program, which tracks foodborne illnesses across the United States [11]. Although the number of reported food and drug recalls has gone down when compared to the trends of previous years, Robert Custard, an environmental health expert says, “The number of recalls does not necessarily correlate with the level of surveillance. Some years you’re going to have more than others because of the luck of the draw. This year you may have fewer total recalls, but the cyclospora outbreak that we had this summer may have the highest number of human cases for any foodborne outbreak in recent history.” This cyclospora outbreak has spread through 48 states and the D.C. area, with 17,000 lab-confirmed cases, making it the third largest outbreak in U.S. history by number of people infected. Understanding why fewer recalls have been reported when a large foodborne illness outbreak has occurred sounds confusing, but Custard also says that “When you do less testing, you’re going to find less problems, when you find less problems, you end up with fewer recalls”. Given the cuts Kennedy has made to essential programs that monitor foodborne illnesses and the fact that the FDA initiated only 1% of the reported recalls, concerns remain that unsafe food may continue to reach grocery stores’ shelves nationwide [1].
Without the proper background in public health, it is no surprise that the policies made by Kennedy are being criticized by experts in the field [3] [7]. By spewing anti-vaccination rhetoric and encouraging people to eat unsafe foods, it is becoming clear that the role of Secretary of Health and Human Services is not the role that should be filled by Kennedy. Although some of the previous Secretary’s also did not have a public health background, many had relevant experience. This includes Trump’s previous Secretary, Alex Azar, who served as the Secretary from 2018 to 2021 and had previously served as general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Resources. Azar may have had his fair share of controversies as well, however, none of these policies enacted changes that could have directly led to the death or decrease in one’s well-being like Kennedy’s. Those with a public health background would not enact the same policies that Kennedy has been, as they would know the science behind vaccine safety and the dangers of drinking unpasteurized milk. By appointing a proud anti-vaxxer with no public health background as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, it shouldn’t be a surprise that we’re seeing a rise in viral and foodborne diseases.
Works Cited
[1] Zhang, Dian. “Are Food Recalls Increasing Under RFK? What the Data Reveals..” USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2026/08/28/food-recalls-under-rfk-jr-data/91494801007/.
[2] Weixel, Nathaniel. “Outbreaks Threaten HHS ‘Real Food’ Agenda.” The Hill, 16 Aug. 2026, https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/6030799-rfk-jr-real-food-agenda-outbreaks/.
[3] Murphy, Josephine. “UCLA Experts Share Concerns Over Background of RFK Jr. As Secretary of HHS – Daily Bruin.” Daily Bruin, 2026, https://dailybruin.com/2025/05/21/ucla-experts-share-concerns-over-background-of-rfk-jr-as-secretary-of-hhs/.
[4] “Robert F. Kennedy, Jr..” HHS.Gov, 13 Feb. 2025, https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/robert-kennedy.html.
[5] Gabis, Lidia V., et al. “The Myth of Vaccination and Autism Spectrum.” European Journal of Paediatric Neurology, vol. 36, no. 36, Jan. 2022, pp. 151–58, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpn.2021.12.011.
[6] Grossi, Giuliana. “5 Health Policy Stances of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” AJMC, 15 Nov. 2024, https://www.ajmc.com/view/5-health-policy-stances-of-robert-f-kennedy-jr.
[7] Late, Michele. “One Year in, RFK Jr.’S Leadership Has Endangered Public Health, Report Says.” American Public Health Association, 10 Feb. 2026, https://www.apha.org/publications/public-health-newswire/public-health-newswire/articles/rfk-first-year-in-leadership-has-endangered-public-health.
[8] News, PBS. “In a Tumultuous Year, U.S. Health Policy Transforms Under RFK Jr..” PBS News, 2 Jan. 2026, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/in-a-tumultuous-year-u-s-health-policy-transforms-under-rfk-jr.
[9] Blum, Dani, and Alice Callahan. “Kennedy Promised Children’s Health Reforms. Here’s How He Did..” The New York Times, 8 Sept. 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/well/rfk-jr-maha-report-childrens-health.html.
[10] Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA. “Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).” HHS.Gov, 17 Sept. 2026, https://www.hhs.gov/maha/index.html.
[11] Dall, C. (2026, October 9). With Pennsylvania leading the way, US measles cases top 4,000. Cidrap. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/pennsylvania-leading-way-us-measles-cases-top-4000