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Gallup polling cited by Food Safety News found that 65% of Americans are confident food sold in grocery stores is safe, the lowest level in its recorded trend. In an opinion article, food safety lawyer Bill Marler argues that transparency, stronger surveillance, enforcement and other reforms could help restore confidence.
Gallup polling cited by Food Safety News shows that 65% of Americans are very or somewhat confident that food sold in grocery stores is safe to eat, the lowest result in the polling series, according to an October 8 opinion article by food safety lawyer Bill Marler. Marler uses the findings to call for 10 changes to food safety oversight, while the survey also reports that more people avoided foods after recalls or advisories than in 2024.
The article reports that confidence in grocery-store food safety fell from 73% in 2025 and 81% in 2019 to 65%. Confidence in the federal government’s ability to ensure food safety was lower: 47% of respondents, compared with 68% in 2019 and 85% in 2004. The figures are attributed to new Gallup polling; the source material does not provide the survey’s sample size, field dates or full methodology.
Respondents also reported changes in behavior. Seventy-three percent said they avoided particular brands or types of food during the previous year because of a recall or advisory, up from 53% in 2024. The article says 45% threw out or returned food and 42% worried that something they had eaten might have been contaminated. These are reported survey responses, not measures of confirmed illness or the number of contaminated products.
Marler links falling confidence to a Cyclospora outbreak that ran from June until September 11, when it was declared over. He says Gallup described it as the largest in U.S. history, with more than 12,000 illnesses across 21 states. Marler argues that state health department counts were much higher, but the provided source gives no state-level figures to establish the difference. He proposes actions including publicizing retailers that received recalled products, identifying companies linked to outbreaks, expanding pathogen surveillance and accelerating traceability requirements.
How Distrust Changes Food Choices
The polling suggests that concern about food safety is affecting consumer choices and household decisions, not just views of government. Avoiding products after an advisory or discarding food can affect families and food businesses, while worry about contamination can persist even when a person has no confirmed illness. The reported figures do not establish the cause of these responses, but they show that recalls and advisories are associated with substantial reported avoidance.
Marler’s proposals focus on whether consumers can learn which products and businesses are involved, and whether public agencies can detect and investigate outbreaks quickly. If people cannot readily identify recalled items or understand the basis for an outbreak alert, that can make warnings harder to act on. The article presents these as arguments for reform, not as changes already adopted by regulators.
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The Ten Reforms Marler Proposes
Marler’s list calls for clearer recall information, including the retail stores that received products subject to the Food and Drug Administration’s most serious recall classification. He also wants FDA or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to name companies when investigators link them to an outbreak. He says he has citizen petitions pending with FDA on those issues; the source does not report agency decisions on them.
Other proposals include restoring broader CDC FoodNet monitoring, speeding implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act’s traceability rule, and testing animal feeding operations near fields implicated in leafy-greens outbreaks. Marler also calls for more funding for FDA, USDA and state and local health departments; treating Salmonella in poultry as an adulterant; warning labels for raw milk cheese and raw sprouts; and federal investigations that could hold executives accountable when conduct warrants it.
His final proposal is a single independent food safety agency to replace the current division of responsibilities among FDA, USDA and other bodies. The list reflects Marler’s views as an advocate and publisher, not a government plan or a set of adopted recommendations. He said he was preparing petitions on warning labels and invited comments through October 15.
“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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Survey Details and Agency Responses
The source material does not include Gallup’s full survey methodology, including its sample size, field dates or question wording. It also does not establish that the Cyclospora outbreak caused the decline in confidence; Marler says Gallup tied the drop to the outbreak, but the polling figures alone do not prove causation.
The article gives no documentation for its assertion that state health departments counted many more illnesses than federal figures. It also does not report whether FDA has acted on Marler’s pending petitions, whether any agencies support his proposals, or whether lawmakers are considering a single food safety agency. The proposed reforms should not be read as current policy.
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Petitions, Traceability and Follow-Up
Marler said he was finishing citizen petitions seeking warning labels for raw milk cheese and raw sprouts and welcomed comments through October 15. The source does not say whether the petitions were filed or what response FDA may give. His other listed petitions also await agency action, according to the article.
Congress has pushed compliance with the federal food traceability rule to 2028, Marler says. Progress on that rule, agency surveillance and any public responses to the petitions are developments to watch. The polling report does not announce new regulations or a timetable for the broader changes he proposes.
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Key Questions
What did the Gallup polling find?
The Food Safety News article reports that 65% of Americans were very or somewhat confident food sold in grocery stores was safe, the lowest result in Gallup’s recorded trend. It also reports that 47% were confident in the federal government’s ability to ensure food safety.
Are consumers avoiding food after recalls?
According to the polling figures reported in the article, 73% said they avoided certain brands or types of food during the previous year because of a recall or advisory. That was up from 53% in 2024. The figures describe survey responses, not confirmed contamination.
Who proposed the 10 food safety changes?
Bill Marler, a food safety lawyer and Food Safety News publisher, proposed the changes in an opinion article. They are recommendations, not measures the article says government agencies have adopted.
What remains uncertain about the findings?
The provided source does not include Gallup’s sample size, field dates or full methodology. It also does not establish that the Cyclospora outbreak caused the decline in confidence or report agency decisions on Marler’s petitions.
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