Cyclospora outbreak has many changing eating habits, CBS News poll finds; mixed and partisan confidence in FDA

Most Americans are following news about the outbreak of cyclospora at least somewhat closely and four in 10 say they are now buying or eating less produce because of it. 

Women are a bit more likely than men to be doing that, and older people more so than younger. 

This outbreak is grabbing Americans’ attention. Nearly as many are following news about the cyclospora parasite as they are the conflict with Iran. 

People paying very close attention to news about cyclospora are especially likely to be buying or eating less produce now. 

Confidence in the FDA’s ability to deal with the outbreak is mixed. On balance, more are confident than not in the FDA, but few express “a lot” of confidence in the agency. 

Politics does play some role in perceptions of the FDA on this. More Republicans express confidence than do Democrats. 

This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,193 U.S. adults interviewed between July 22-24, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.7 points.

Poll toplines