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Gallup’s latest poll found that 65% of Americans are confident food sold in grocery stores is safe, the lowest share in its tracking, while confidence in the federal government fell to 47%. Food Safety News publisher Bill Marler argues that transparency, stronger surveillance, prevention and accountability could help rebuild trust; his proposals are advocacy, not adopted policy.
Americans’ confidence in food safety has fallen to record lows, according to Gallup polling released October 8, with 65% saying they are very or somewhat confident that food sold in grocery stores is safe to eat. Confidence in the federal government’s ability to ensure food safety is lower still, at 47%, a finding that food safety lawyer and Food Safety News publisher Bill Marler says should prompt officials and food companies to act.
The poll’s figures mark a decline from 73% confidence in grocery food safety in 2025 and 81% in 2019. Confidence in the federal government has fallen from 68% in 2019 and 85% in 2004. Gallup reported that, for the first time in its polling, a majority of Americans have little or no confidence in the government’s ability to keep food safe.
Respondents also described changes in their behavior. Seventy-three percent said they avoided particular brands or types of food in the past year because of a recall or advisory, compared with 53% in 2024. Forty-five percent said they had thrown food out or returned it, while 42% said they had worried that something they ate might have been contaminated.
Marler’s commentary connects the decline to a Cyclospora outbreak that ran from June until it was declared over on September 11. He describes it as the largest such outbreak in U.S. history and cites more than 12,000 illnesses across 21 states. The source commentary says state health department figures were much higher, but provides no comparable total or data series in the material provided. That difference is a claim in the commentary, not a figure independently established here.
How Lost Trust Changes Shopping
The polling suggests food safety concerns are affecting consumers beyond their general views of government. Nearly three in four respondents reported avoiding foods because of a recall or advisory, and almost half said they discarded or returned food. Such actions can affect household choices and businesses associated with a recalled product, even when a particular shopper’s risk is not established by the poll.
The confidence gap also crosses party lines in reported consumer behavior. Gallup’s figures cited by Marler show that 63% of Republicans, 73% of independents and 81% of Democrats said they had avoided foods because of recalls. Confidence in government, by contrast, differs sharply by party: 70% of Republicans expressed confidence, compared with 30% of Democrats. The responses point to a shared practical concern, though they do not establish what caused each person’s actions or views.
For agencies and food producers, the results put public communication and outbreak response under scrutiny. Marler argues that clearer recall information and faster tracing would help people make decisions. The poll records public opinion; it does not test whether any particular proposed change would restore confidence or prevent illness.
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Marler’s Ten Proposed Reforms
Marler presents 10 recommendations in his October 8 Food Safety News commentary. They include publishing which retailers received recalled products; naming companies linked to outbreaks; restoring broader CDC FoodNet pathogen surveillance; and avoiding further delays to the federal food traceability rule, whose compliance date Congress moved to 2028.
His other proposals call for sampling at animal feeding operations near fields implicated in leafy-greens investigations, protecting agency and local public-health staffing, and treating Salmonella in poultry as an adulterant. He also advocates warning labels for raw milk cheese and raw sprouts, investigations into executive responsibility for foodborne illness cases, and a single independent federal food safety agency in place of the current division of responsibilities.
These are Marler’s recommendations, not a government action plan. He says he has petitions pending at the FDA on retailer information, company identification and sampling near implicated fields, and is preparing petitions on warnings for certain foods. The source does not provide petition docket numbers or indicate that regulators have accepted the proposals.
“Confidence is not restored by press releases. It is restored by transparency, by prevention, and by accountability.”
— Bill Marler, Food Safety News publisher and food safety lawyer
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What the Poll Cannot Establish
The material provided does not include Gallup’s full questionnaire, sample size, field dates, margin of error or detailed methodology. It also does not establish that the Cyclospora outbreak caused the decline in confidence; that connection is presented in Marler’s commentary. The supplied account gives an outbreak illness figure of more than 12,000, while Marler says state totals were much higher without specifying a verified alternative count.
It is also unclear which of Marler’s petitions will receive agency action, whether the proposed food warnings or poultry policy will advance, or what funding and legislative changes may follow. The poll captures reported confidence and behavior, not the safety of each food item or the effectiveness of the proposed reforms.
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Petitions and Traceability Deadlines
Marler says he is seeking comments through October 15 on petitions for warning labels on raw milk cheese and raw sprouts, and says other FDA petitions are pending. The source does not give a response timetable from the agency. The federal food traceability rule’s compliance date is stated as 2028, so regulators, lawmakers and food businesses may face further decisions before then.
The next evidence of change will be whether agencies respond to the petitions, provide clearer outbreak and recall information, or alter surveillance and enforcement practices. Gallup’s poll records a sharp decline in public confidence; whether that trend continues, and whether specific reforms affect it, remains to be seen.
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Key Questions
What did Gallup find about confidence in food safety?
Sixty-five percent of respondents said they were very or somewhat confident that food sold in grocery stores is safe to eat, the lowest figure Gallup has recorded. Confidence in the federal government’s role was 47%.
Are consumers changing what they buy?
Gallup found that 73% said they avoided certain brands or food types in the past year because of a recall or advisory. The poll also found that 45% had thrown food out or returned it. These are reported behaviors, not a measure of the safety of every product.
What reforms is Bill Marler proposing?
His proposals include more detailed recall and outbreak disclosures, broader disease surveillance, faster food tracing, stronger inspection resources, poultry Salmonella controls, warnings for some higher-risk foods, executive accountability and an independent federal food safety agency. They are recommendations, not enacted policy.
Did the poll prove the Cyclospora outbreak caused falling confidence?
No. Marler links the decline to the outbreak, but the supplied material does not establish that it caused the poll results. It also reports more than 12,000 illnesses across 21 states and says state counts were higher, without providing a verified alternative total.
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