More than 167,000 pounds of meat were recalled. What to know about the state of food safety in the U.S.

More than 167,000 pounds of beef, pork and goat meat are being recalled after they were produced without the required federal inspection and labeled with a false inspection sticker, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The meat products join a broad array of foods that were recalled this summer, including frozen blueberries, deli meats and broccoli sprouts that have been taken off shelves and tied to E. coli, listeria and salmonella outbreaks.

The regular stream of recalls in the wake of the country's largest known cyclospora outbreak has fueled consumer worries about food safety.

Here's what to know about whether there have been more outbreaks and recalls this summer than in past years and the state of food safety.

What's the difference between an outbreak and a food recall?

While they're related, foodborne illness outbreaks and food recalls are two separate events and data for each are tracked individually.

"Not every outbreak leads to a recall, and not every recall is associated with an outbreak," said Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at The George Washington University.

Food recalls happen when a problem has been identified in a food product. This could mean a company didn't correctly identify allergens or the food item didn't go through the necessary inspection. The Food and Drug Administration in September recalled certain ice cream products over the presence of "small stones and other hard objects" in them, for example.

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Recalls don't mean that someone has gotten sick.

"A recall means a potential problem has been identified, and action is being taken to protect consumers," Indu Upadhyaya, professor of poultry science and food safety at University of Connecticut, said in an email. "And one recalled product does not mean an entire type of food is unsafe."

One contaminated ingredient can lead to several recalls if the affected food item is included in more than one product.

For example, the FDA issued a recall for jalapeños from Sinaloa, Mexico, in August. That recall affected several food products beyond individual jalapeños, such as pre-made salsas, guacamole and pico de gallo.

Recalls can also happen following an outbreak of foodborne illness if a product is determined to have been the cause.

Foodborne illness outbreaks are announced when there are enough cases tied to the same food. But not every outbreak leads to a recall if investigators can't identify a specific product behind it.

READ MORE: How is salmonella contaminating so many things? What to know from a food safety expert

"For example, if you and I are sick from the same strain of salmonella, the assumption is that we got sick from consuming the same food or being exposed to the same source," Don Schaffner, food science professor at Rutgers University, said in an email. "In some cases, outbreaks may be declared but the ultimate cause never identified."

Generally, foodborne illnesses are underreported, Upadhyaya said, "because many individuals who experience mild or even moderate symptoms do not seek medical care and therefore are not tested or included in surveillance systems."

Have there been more outbreaks and recalls this summer than in past years?

The cyclospora outbreak this summer was the largest in recorded U.S. history. Its magnitude led to increased visibility, awareness and news coverage around foodborne illnesses. But that doesn't necessarily mean there have been more outbreaks or recalls this year, food science experts told PBS News.

"The identification of contaminated products, issuance of recalls, and active public health investigations demonstrate that our food safety surveillance, detection, traceback, and response systems are functioning as intended," Kali Kniel, professor of microbial food safety at University of Delaware, said in an email.

WATCH: Cyclospora and salmonella outbreaks raise concerns about U.S. food safety

Some of the best data for tracking foodborne illness trends came from FoodNet, a collaboration among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the FDA, the Department of Agriculture and 10 state health departments.

Watch the PBS News Hour segment in the player above.

The latest data on FoodNet is from 2024. Last year, the Trump administration cut back the system's surveillance efforts by making it optional for the states that participate to monitor six of the eight pathogens it was previously tracking.

Data from the CDC generally lags "by several years as they check and recheck the data," Schaffner said.

The CDC separately reports the number of active investigations of four germs that are likely to cause outbreaks: Campylobacter, E. coli, listeria and salmonella. Not all investigations lead to notices of an outbreak.

As of Sept. 23, the CDC reported 32 total active investigations across the four pathogens. On average the CDC says it coordinates between 17 to 40 investigations each week. In September 2025, there were 31.

When it comes to recalls, it's difficult to compare data year to year. On the one hand, recalls don't signify a person has gotten sick, and on the other, a single contaminated ingredient can lead to multiple recalls.

"There have been several very significant outbreaks recently, but the number of news stories alone cannot tell us whether foodborne illness overall has increased in 2026," Upadhyaya said. "We will need more complete surveillance data before making that conclusion."

What do outbreaks and recalls say about food safety in the U.S.?

A change in the number of food outbreaks or recalls may not indicate a more unsafe food system.

"Recalls and outbreaks are generally considered random events, they occur irregularly and sporadically," Schaffner said. "Levels may fluctuate up and down but that does not necessarily mean that things are getting better or worse, only that these things are variable."

An increase in outbreaks could be a sign of scientific advancements that may make it easier for experts to connect illnesses "that previously might never have been recognized as part of the same outbreak," Upadhyaya said.

They could also be a result of heightened public awareness. Increased coverage about recent outbreaks may encourage more people to seek medical attention and undergo testing that results in more reported cases than before, Kniel said.

"At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that the U.S. food supply is fundamentally less safe than in previous years," she said.

Will Trump administration policies affect the U.S. food system?

Even though the food science experts PBS News spoke with generally agreed that food safety in the U.S. is not worsening, some pointed to concerns about the effect Trump administration policies could have on the system's safety in the future.

"Ultimately we do need adequate funding for research, inspection, investigation and the development of good food safety policy, all of which is impacted by decisions made by the Trump administration," Schaffner said.

He said budget cuts and layoffs "have reduced the responsiveness of both FDA and CDC."

WATCH: Important HHS services 'will grind to a halt' with cuts, former Secretary Sebelius says

Epidemiology and scientific research play an important role in food safety, Schaffner said. Epidemiologists investigate outbreaks, and research by academics and government scientists progress food safety knowledge.

"The disruption to federal grants experienced under the Trump administration has impacted science across the board, and food safety science is no exception," he said.

WATCH: The possible long-term impact of Trump's cuts to medical research funding

Kowalcyk said the U.S. food system has long had vulnerabilities and been under stress. She said the government has historically not invested in "foodborne disease surveillance systems and food safety research the way we needed to."

That has worsened under Trump, she said.

"Before this administration, we had one hand tied behind our back, and now we have two," Kowalcyk said.