RSS Feeds

This summer, it’s been hard for consumers to know what to put in their grocery cart. Recalls have affected hundreds of products, including lettuce, which was linked to a Cyclospora outbreak; eggs and jalapenos that were connected with salmonella; and blueberries that were potentially contaminated with E. coli.

These incidents have left shoppers across the United States wondering whether this summer has been a particularly bad one for foodborne illnesses.

Here’s what to know—and why consumers may be perceiving a greater number of outbreaks than usual, despite what the data shows.

Read More: What Food Safety Experts Are Eating During the Cyclospora Outbreak

The number of food recalls are about average, but a few have been unusually severe

According to federal data, the number of food recalls regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is relatively on par with an average year. So far, there have been 483 recalls in this fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2025 through Sept. 30, 2026), with a projected total of 551 by the end of October. In the past decade, the U.S. has seen a range of 400-800 annual recalls. 

But what stands out in 2026 is the severity of some of the outbreaks caused by contaminated food this year.

“I don't know that I would necessarily say there are more outbreaks,” says Janet Hamilton, the executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. “However, what I would say is the scale and magnitude of outbreaks that we're facing right now are unprecedented. It's like we're being eclipsed by the scale and magnitude of these outbreaks with the staffing levels that we have.”

The summer’s Cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce alone sickened more than 10,000 people, caused over 400 hospitalizations, and led to at least two deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Epidemiologists believe it could be among the largest documented foodborne illness events in U.S. history. 

"We've never seen anything like that before,” Hamilton says.

The volume of food affected is higher than average

While the total number of recalls has been about average, USDA-regulated recalls affected more than 37 million pounds of food during the first half of 2026—the highest it has been in a decade.

At the same time, epidemiologist and former CDC adviser Katelyn Jetelina says that it’s very hard to tell just how bad this summer’s outbreaks have been—and our lack of federal data does not help.

“Our data is just not great in the United States,” she tells TIME. “We’re patching things together to try to figure out what is reality versus concern and public perception, and it's hard to know where the line is.”

“That’s what's most frustrating for me as an epidemiologist as well as a mom,” she adds.

There are seasonal factors, and surveillance has improved

It’s normal for foodborne illnesses to peak in the summer, since warmer temperatures help bacteria and other organisms multiply. That is why there have been more outbreak incidents in recent months. But this is a consistent seasonal threat, epidemiologists say, and not specific to 2026. 

There has also been an increase in media attention around food safety, which can make it seem like the magnitude of any given event is higher than it actually is. This increased coverage is partially due to improved surveillance tools. Laboratories are better equipped than ever to detect foodborne illnesses, track how bacteria multiply, and find links between patients. 

Because we have more information than ever on some of these bacteria, and we are able to process data faster than ever before, this means that the information can be quickly and easily shared with the population—which potentially makes it feel like the country is experiencing more outbreaks, when consumers are really just seeing more updates.

Federal staffing shortages may be weakening the safety net

Experts say that while we are able to more quickly detect and identify food safety issues in past decades, health departments at the federal and state levels have experienced significant decreases in funding and staffing—potentially weakening food safety oversight. It can be hard to tell how this is impacting outbreaks.

One potential outcome is having less ability to monitor and control an existing outbreak, Hamilton says.

“Health departments are mounting responses quickly, but when the outbreaks need additional sustained surge support, the system is quickly overwhelmed,” she says. “That leads to situations like what we have seen with Cyclospora. This would have been a complicated outbreak to begin with, and then when you don't have the staffing to keep pace with the level of detailed interviews that you need, the ability to rapidly control the outbreak diminishes.”

Hamilton and her colleagues at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists conduct regular surveys to track staffing levels in state and territorial health departments, and their recent reports found that one-third of public health officials in state health departments have left their positions since the Trump Administration took control in 2025. On the federal level, some of the staffing cuts were led by the Department of Government Efficiency.

Federal cuts to the CDC and FDA also affect state and local health departments, since federal funds provide more than half of their total budgets, according to KFF.

Hamilton says that public health officials are like a “protective shield” around the complicated food systems in our country. Workers look at data “carefully and thoughtfully,” interview people impacted by foodborne illness, and “tease apart” what foods might be contaminated.

This work is harder with fewer staff members who are stretched increasingly thin. Even advanced tracking and surveillance technology may not be able to counter the loss of knowledgeable human engagement amid these outbreaks.

“Our food supply chains are complicated, and I don't know that people really appreciate the detailed work and the complexity that goes behind understanding where foods and ingredients come from and exactly how people are exposed,” she adds.

Jetelina adds that part of the role of public health officials is distinguishing “correlation from causation”—a consideration that applies directly to questions about whether and how staffing and funding cuts have affected responses to illness outbreaks this year. Reduced oversight may have allowed some contamination events to go undetected or unaddressed, while staffing shortages may have delayed the collection and dissemination of information that could have helped officials contain outbreaks and reduce the risk to consumers. But without further investigation, it is difficult to determine exactly how the cuts affected the number of recalls, the speed of outbreak responses, or other key measures in 2026.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that cuts to the CDC and FDA have not hampered the investigation of Cyclospora.

“Those criticisms are invalid,” Kennedy said during a press briefing on July 21. “We had no cuts in the surveillance program. We did cuts in the FoodNet program, but they were for redundant surveillance.”

FoodNet, short for the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, was no longer required to actively report on six of eight pathogens, including Cyclospora, as of 2025. The CDC characterized the change in a statement to the Associated Press in August 2025 as a way to “prioritize core activities” and “steward resources effectively.”

TIME has reached out to the CDC and FDA for comment.

When it comes to consumer safety, it’s important to note that the vast majority of food moving through the system is free from contamination. Experts say consumers can stay safe from outbreaks by keeping up with food recalls, washing produce well, refrigerating produce properly, and monitoring symptoms linked to foodborne illnesses. 

For many Americans, accessing fresh, clean water is as simple as turning a tap. 

But amid a growing water crisis in the West, and periodic droughts in other parts of the country, constant water access is not a given. 

“it's a resource that, in this case, can quite literally run dry,” says John Atkinson, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Buffalo. 

Earlier this month, federal officials announced sharp cuts in how much water Arizona, California and Nevada would be allowed to take from the Colorado River over the next two years as the water levels for the nation's two largest reservoirs reach record lows. Under the Bureau of Reclamation’s new plan, the three states will have to collectively reduce water use by 1.25 million acre-feet annually over the next two years—or potentially face larger cuts. 

The average American uses roughly 82 gallons of water a day at home, according to the EPA. Much of that water use is the result of habits that most people rarely give a second thought— like leaving the sink running while washing dishes or setting up an automatic sprinkler system to maintain a green yard. 

Experts in water sustainability say that there are small steps they take at home to help them save water. 

Qizhong George Guo, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rutgers University, notes that there are plenty of small habits that can add up to significant drops in water usage. Only run the dishwasher or washing machine when you have full ones. If you’re washing dishes by hand, be mindful to not leave the tap running when it's not in use. Soak pans before cleaning them, and turn off the faucet when scrubbing. 

Many older appliances use more water. Switching to newer models, which tend to be more energy and water-efficient, could yield savings in the long run. “The fixtures have become much more efficient in the last 20 years or so—from dishwashers to showerheads, to faucets,” says Guo. 

Switching to low-flow faucets, which use less water than older models, are “a low-hanging fruit,” says Helen Dahlke, professor of integrated hydrologic sciences at the University of California, Davis. “You can save several hundreds of gallons of water per year, and that will also show up on your water bill as a benefit.” When looking for a newer model, keep an eye out for products which have a WaterSense label, which meet EPA standards and can save up to 700 gallons per year.

Another tip: Check around your home for leaks, which can add up to a lot of wasted water over time. 

“People would be surprised by how much water gets wasted due to leaks,” says Atkinson.  

According to the EPA, household leaks waste more than 1 trillion gallons annually nationwide. That's equal to the annual household water use of more than 11 million homes.

Where households use the most water

One of the biggest ways to save water is outside the home. The average homeowner uses 30% to 70% of their water outdoors—watering lawns, flowers and vegetables, the EPA estimates. 

“It’s the staple picture of the American home—a nice house and a green lawn in front of it,” says Dahlke. “But in regions where water is scarce, you should really think, is it worth it spending several hundreds of dollars a year and several hundreds of gallons a year just keeping green grass that has no use?” 

Nationwide, landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day. Dahlke bucked that trend by embracing xeriscaping, or drought-tolerant landscaping. Instead of a traditional green yard, she's planted native plants and flowers that attract local pollinators. She’s noticed bees and hummingbirds have begun stopping by. 

Another added bonus? “I get a lot of compliments from the neighbors when they walk by,” she says.

Tim Curry, a multitalented star of the stage and screen, died Tuesday at his home at the age of 80. The three-time Tony Award-nominated icon was best known for his eccentric characters, his musical background, and his comedic chops, leading to a varied and successful career in cult classics and box office hits. 

Curry “passed away peacefully at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles,” according to a statement from his longtime manager Marcia Hurwitz. The cause of death has not been made public, but Curry had suffered from several health issues since having a severe stroke in 2012. 

Though he was best-known for donning fishnets and a corset as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in 1975’s “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Curry had left his mark with a wide-ranging career spanning albums, voice work, and more.

Here are a few of the roles that allow his unmistakable artistry to live on.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Curry rose to cult status after taking on the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania,” in the stage version of The Rocky Horror Show in London in 1973. His fan base crossed the Atlantic when he came to the United States to reprise the role in Los Angeles in 1974, before transferring to Broadway, paving the way to the now-famous screen adaptation from 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Reviews from New York were mixed—the TIME review said of the initial Broadway run that it was “not easy to see why this campy trash was a long-running hit in London and a smash success in Los Angeles.” But by 1985, TIME’s film reviewer recognized the movie as a “cross-generational phenomenon.”

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert said that Curry was “the best thing in the movie, maybe because he seems to be having the most fun.”

Now, Rocky Horror is an interactive midnight movie phenomenon, with fans showing up to screenings nationwide in costume, shouting lines back at the screen, and singing along. The stage version was revived on Broadway in 2026.

Curry’s breakout role in musical theater helped launch his music career in the 1970s and 1980s. He released three albums: Read My Lips, Fearless, and Simplicity.

Annie

In 1982, Curry starred in another stage adaptation—this time playing sleazy con artist Rooster Hannigan in the hit movie Annie.

Acting alongside legends like Carol Burnett and Bernadette Peters, Curry cemented himself as a scheming villain, the type of role he would continue to play in movies like Home Alone 2, Muppet Treasure Island, and The Three Musketeers.

In a 2020 interview with Forbes, Curry reminisced on the experience: “Rooster was a hustler, and people love that kind of character,” he said. “He was a lot of fun.”

Clue

In the 1985 board game adaptation Clue, Curry played the energetic butler Wadsworth, where he showcased his physical comedy. One of the most memorable moments comes at the film’s end, when Wadsworth runs about the mansion, trying to summarize the night’s events and explain the identity of the killer.

Since his death, tributes from his Clue co-stars have poured in.

“What an unbelievable joy to have shared a sound stage with him and to engage with such a master talent,” Lesley Ann Warren, who played Miss Scarlet in the murder mystery movie, wrote. “I adored him.”

It

In 1990, Curry took on a more straightforward villain in the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s It. He starred as an ancient cosmic evil that took the form of a child-killing clown called Pennywise in the town of Derry, Maine.

His portrayal of Pennywise horrified a generation of children—without relying heavily on special effects or prosthetics. In a 1990 interview, Curry said he was trying to get in touch with the “human element” of the horror genre.

“We had a much more prosthetic version of this makeup, which was very scary-looking and beautifully executed but did too much work by itself,” he said. “And I personally think that what is most horrifying is the moment of decision behind somebody’s eyes when they decide to kill somebody—rather than a pint of blood and a pound-and-a-half of latex.”

Other beloved roles

Beyond his most beloved roles, Curry had his fingerprints all over pop culture—in movies and television and on the stage.

His three Tony Award nominations came for his 1981 portrayal of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the play Amadeus, his portrayal of King Arthur in the musical Monty Python’s Spamalot which debuted on Broadway in 2005, and the lead role of troubled movie star Alan Swann in the musical My Favorite Year in 1992

On the screen, Curry was also beloved as the nosy concierge in 1992’s Home Alone 2, where he is outsmarted by the film’s young protagonist, as well as for his immersive work alongside a cast of Muppets as Long John Silver in 1996’s Muppet Treasure Island. Both his penchant for camp and his undeniable vocal talent were highlighted in 1986’s The Worst Witch, where he played the menacing Halloween harbinger, Grand Wizard Egbert Hellibore.

Curry’s distinct theatrical voice also made him a top choice for voiceover work, where his prolific career spanned hundreds of animated series, audiobooks, and video games. After voicing Captain Hook in Peter Pan & the Pirates, he won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991.

There’s a healthy way to take a break during conflict. Asking for space—and specifying when the conversation will resume—can protect a relationship by giving both people time to calm down. 

The silent treatment does the opposite. Withdrawing without explanation or a plan to reconnect just creates a new conflict, leaving the person on the receiving end scrambling to figure out what went wrong.

Yet not everyone who goes quiet is trying to inflict pain. Some people shut down because they’re overwhelmed and genuinely incapable of having a productive conversation. We asked experts how to figure out what’s behind the silent treatment—and what to do when someone stops speaking to you.

First, figure out what kind of silence you’re dealing with

A healthy cooling-off period and the silent treatment can look identical from the outside, says Rachel Needle, a psychologist in West Palm Beach, Fla. Both involve someone stepping away from a conversation. What changes the meaning of that silence is whether the person explains what's happening and offers some reassurance that the conversation isn't over. Most of all, it's whether they say when they'll be back.

Someone who’s emotionally flooded might say: “I need a little time to calm down before we keep talking. Can we pick this up tonight?” Doing so gives the silence a purpose and an endpoint, Needle says. If the person needs more time when the agreed-upon hour rolls around, they can say so and suggest another time. 

That communication sends an important message, says Enid Wilson, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Sacramento: “I’m still in this relationship. I’m just taking a pause on this conversation because I need to take care of myself.” Walking away or refusing to respond leaves the other person wondering whether the conversation—or even the relationship—is over. The best version also comes with a timeframe.

People withdraw for all kinds of reasons. They might be afraid they’ll say something they regret or have learned to protect themselves by shutting down. Some people simply haven’t learned how to sit with difficult emotions or repair a disagreement, Needle says, so “silence really becomes a way to escape the discomfort, rather than having to deal with it and move through it.”

In other cases, silence is leverage. It creates uncertainty and pressures the recipient to apologize or back down. Sometimes that strategy is conscious, Needle says, and sometimes it isn't. Whatever's motivating the withdrawal, the impact on the other person can be similar. "It creates anxiety, rejection, uncertainty, and a sense of being shut out," she says.

Because it’s impossible to climb inside someone else’s head, focus on what can be observed. Did they say they needed space? Did they give some indication of when they’d return? Did they follow through—or at least check in to ask for more time? Then ask whether this is a rare rupture, or the way every disagreement ends.

Context matters, too. There's no universal number of hours that transforms a delayed response into the silent treatment. If two friends usually exchange a couple emails a month, a week of quiet probably doesn't mean much. If a partner who texts throughout the day suddenly disappears in the middle of a tense conversation, it might. Texting also strips out tone of voice and facial expression, the signals that make intent easier to interpret. "You just miss so many cues when you're not talking either on the phone or in person," Wilson says. That's why she encourages moving difficult conversations out of the text thread.

Send one clear message—and then stop chasing

When someone abruptly goes quiet, the goal is to respond without escalating the conflict while staying grounded in your own needs, Needle says. Start by calmly naming what you've observed: "I noticed that you've gone quiet. I want to understand what's going on, but I also don't want to push you if you need some space."

If the silence is unfolding over text, Wilson suggests a question instead of an accusation: "It seems like now isn't a good time to talk. Can we set a time for later tonight or sometime this week?" That gives the person room to respond while making it clear that disappearing indefinitely doesn't work for you.

Then resist the urge to send six more messages. "One of the biggest mistakes that people make is reacting to the anxiety that the silence is creating, instead of responding to the situation itself," Needle says. That anxiety might inspire repeated calls and demands to talk right now. It might inspire apologies for things you don't believe you did. Some people abandon their own needs simply to get the other person talking again; others retaliate with silence of their own.

Those reactions are understandable, but none are especially useful. Chasing might briefly relieve your distress if the person responds. But “in some cases, it can actually unintentionally reinforce an unhealthy dynamic by teaching both people that silence is what finally gets a response,” Needle says. Returning the silent treatment, meanwhile, only complicates a problem already caused by a lack of communication.

These dynamics can easily become a pursue-withdraw cycle, Wilson says. One person experiences conflict as an urgent threat to the relationship and needs to resolve it immediately. The other copes by detaching or shutting down. The more the first person calls and texts, the more conflict the withdrawer perceives—and the farther away they retreat. "If that person is conflict-avoidant, you're creating more conflict," Wilson says. "So they're going to avoid it."

The way out is to step out of the cycle, at least temporarily. That means tolerating the discomfort of not getting an immediate response, and directing all that nervous energy somewhere else. "The best and healthiest response is usually just the least reactive one," Needle says. After expressing your willingness to talk and asking when the person can reconnect, shift your attention toward what you can control. "Go for a walk, call a friend that you trust, journal, engage in another grounding activity," she suggests, rather than staring at your phone and rehearsing apologies. Doing so helps ensure the other person's silence doesn't determine when you're allowed to feel OK again.

When things are calm, make a plan for next time

When communication resumes, you might be so relieved that you simply pretend nothing happened. But unless the pattern itself is addressed, the next disagreement might end the same way.

Needle suggests leading with curiosity: “Can you help me understand what was happening for you when you needed to step away?” Once you’ve listened, describe the impact without claiming to know the person’s intent: “When I didn’t hear from you and didn’t know whether we would talk again, I felt anxious and disconnected. I’m OK with taking space during conflict, but I need to know we’ll come back to it.”

Then decide together what a future timeout will look like. Avigail Lev, a clinical psychologist in San Francisco, encourages couples to agree in advance on how either person will signal that they need a break, roughly how long it will last, what they’ll do to calm down, and who will restart the conversation. If the person needs longer, they should still check in at the agreed-upon time and provide a new endpoint. Some couples and families even choose a code word that means the conversation is pausing, Wilson says—not that the relationship is disappearing.

It's also a good idea to set a boundary. Wilson likes to think of boundaries not as walls that block people out, but as roads that show them how to stay connected: "You can be here with me, but you can't just go off-roading everywhere." A boundary does more than ask the other person to stop going silent. It clarifies what communication you require in a relationship, and what you'll do if that need repeatedly goes unmet.

One episode of withdrawal isn’t enough to judge an entire relationship, Needle says. What matters is the pattern: Does the behavior change after it’s addressed? Are both people willing to repair the rupture? Or does restoring contact always require one person to get quieter and stop raising concerns? 

If the silence continues despite repeated conversations—or leaves you feeling controlled and perpetually on edge—it might be time to seek professional help or reconsider the relationship. Healthy relationships make room for people to calm down, Needle says. They don’t leave one person indefinitely responsible for managing all the uncertainty that someone else’s silence creates.