Transportation Director

Consolidated food supply may be worsening cyclospora outbreaks, experts say. The cyclospora outbreak that has sickened thousands in the U.S. is drawing renewed attention to a decades-long shift in how fresh food moves through the country. While investigators work to identify the original source of contamination, some food safety experts say the industry's centralized sourcing and distribution networks after a wave of consolidation can help turn what once may have been an isolated contamination event into a multistate outbreak. "The general trends that have taken place in the food industry, the way in which food has been sourced and then distributed has played some role here," said Dr. David Relman, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University. The cyclospora parasite's long incubation period, the difficulty in tracking its path and what some experts have criticized as a bumpy federal response have all played a role in the widening outbreak. Some experts say the structure of the food system has also contributed. "It's possible that as food sourcing and distribution becomes consolidated you get pooling and then redistribution of what might have been a very local contamination problem, so that it now becomes a widely distributed contamination problem," Relman said. Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said the shrinking of the industry has amplified the consequences when contamination occurs. "Consolidation means that if something goes wrong, it goes wrong big time," Nestle said. Centralized processing can further expand the reach of an outbreak, she said. The current FDA investigation around cyclosporiasis has focused on shredded iceberg lettuce distributed through Taylor Farms' foodservice business, an ingredient that reached Taco Bell restaurants and other foodservice customers across multiple states. Relman referenced bagged lettuce as one example of how changes in distribution could spread a foodborne illness. "Think of the difference between one head of lettuce and a bag of chopped lettuce that may have come from many, many heads," he said. "These bags are now being produced in huge numbers and distributed in far-flung distribution networks." Consolidation in the supply chain. Packages of Taylor Farms salad kits displayed for sale at a Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store in Redondo Beach, California, on Feb. 23, 2024.Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images The industry's evolution toward fewer distributors has been driven in part by a push for efficiency. Nestle said those improvements for businesses come with trade-offs for food safety. "Big is not necessarily better," she said. "The bigger the supplier, the greater the opportunity for contamination." Over the past several decades, U.S. agriculture and food distribution have steadily consolidated as companies pursue greater efficiency and national scale, according to the USDA. For example, Taylor Farms, the salad producer under scrutiny for the recent cyclospora outbreak, has seen significant expansion through a series of acquisitions over the past decade - including Earthbound Farm in 2019, Curation Foods in 2021 and most recently Equinox Growers in March. Meanwhile, restaurant supply has become increasingly concentrated too, with broadline distributors like Sysco, US Foods and Performance Food Group serving hundreds of thousands of restaurants and institutional kitchens nationwide. While federal regulators blocked Sysco's proposed $8.2 billion acquisition of US Foods in 2015 on antitrust grounds, both companies have continued growing through smaller acquisitions of regional distributors and fresh produce processors. Sysco, the nation's largest foodservice distributor, has spent the past decade expanding its fresh produce business by acquiring regional distributors including Paragon Foods in Pennsylvania, The Coastal Companies in the mid-Atlantic and Greco and Sons, a specialty food distributor with 10 distribution centers across the country. Tractor trailers at a Sysco Corp. distribution center in Halfmoon, New York, Jan. 30, 2024.Angus Mordant | Bloomberg | Getty Images Those deals expanded Sysco's reach in fresh-cut produce and value-added processing, allowing a larger share of restaurants to source ingredients through the same distribution network. In 2016, US Foods acquired Freshway Foods, a fresh fruit and vegetable processor, repacker and distributor in the eastern half of the United States. Some experts on food distribution believe having a smaller number of companies in the industry compounds issues when they arise. But not everyone agrees that consolidation is the enemy. Timothy Lytton, a health and safety regulation expert at Georgia State University, said larger produce growers and processors often operate with more sophisticated food safety systems than smaller farms because they have the financial resources to invest in testing, traceability, audits and quality control. "It's not entirely clear that larger operations have more food safety problems than smaller operations," said Lytton. In California, he added, there have been studies at farmers markets that have found fresh produce grown by small farmers have had contamination with E. coli. "While you may have a farmer who's very concerned about the quality of the product, you also have in an organic model a more holistic idea about farming that often involves animals near crops," Lytton said. "That combination of animals and crops can create food safety problems." Even so, Lytton acknowledged that when contamination does occur within large handler networks, the resulting recalls at the distribution level are much broader and harder to manage. CNBC has reached out to the group of major food suppliers about safety precautions and tracing procedures. Sysco pointed CNBC to the International Foodservice Distribution Association. "The foodservice supply chain that feeds our communities is intricate and foodservice distributors are highly skilled in tracking and tracing the food they distribute," said a spokesperson for the IFDA. "They maintain robust records, identifying the source, internal movement, and recipient of all products they handle, and they have a proven track record of providing FDA with critical traceback information within 24-48 hours to support foodborne illness outbreak investigations and swiftly remove products from commerce." Relman stressed that while consolidation itself doesn't create contamination, it does change the consequences when contamination occurs. "We often don't appreciate a system like the food inspection system, or the public health system in large until it fails," said Relman. "We can't keep doing that."

Road to Logistics and Sysco GB win DEI accolade at Multimodal Awards. Sysco GB and not-for-profit training organisation Road to Logistics have been named Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Company of the Year at the 2026 Multimodal Awards. The award celebrates the impact of a joint programme delivered at Sysco London, the company's largest site in GB, which was designed to open the door to logistics careers for people who would not normally get the opportunity to enter the sector. Logistics remains one of the least diverse workforces in the country, and people face barriers to employment including long-term unemployment, homelessness, care experience and neurodiversity. At the same time, employers across the sector continue to face acute labour shortages. Road to Logistics and Sysco GB set out to tackle both challenges through a new, inclusive approach to recruitment and training. Working together, the organisations designed dedicated logistics training programmes delivered on-site at Sysco London. Each programme combines sector-specific training, RTITB-accredited forklift truck qualifications, employability support and long-term mentoring, and also removes barriers that often prevent people from succeeding in traditional recruitment processes. Interview preparation, assessment centre formats and employer expectations are built directly into the employability training, helping learners gain confidence and familiarity. Participants also receive one-to-one mentoring from the start of the programme through to 12 months after entering employment. Across three cohorts at Hemel Hempstead, 30 individuals completed the programme and 90% secured employment with Sysco GB. The participants reflected the programme's commitment to inclusion: every participant was unemployed when they joined, with the majority experiencing long-term unemployment and several having experienced homelessness and living in supported accommodation; a significant proportion were identified as neurodiverse; and a quarter were from ethnic minority backgrounds. Behind these figures are powerful individual stories. One graduate was referred to the programme after experiencing homelessness, having lost his family and home due to addiction problems. Having overcome his addictions, he successfully completed the training and mentoring programme, secured a role operating a forklift truck at Sysco London and has now been with the business for six months and has a place of his own where he lives happily with his wife and daughter. Katrina Simpson-Haines, HR director at Sysco GB, said: "Winning DEI Company of the Year is a testament to what can be achieved when businesses rethink how they recruit and who they reach. Our partnership with Road to Logistics is helping people build new futures while strengthening the long-term resilience of our sector. At a time when economic and social pressures have widened opportunity gaps, we all have a responsibility to champion social mobility and help remove the barriers that hold people back. I'm incredibly proud of the colleagues, mentors and leaders who have made this programme such a success." Jennifer Swain, managing director of Road to Logistics, said: "This award recognises the power of inclusive recruitment to change lives and transform the logistics workforce. Sysco GB has been an exceptional partner: committed, hands-on and determined to remove barriers for people who deserve the chance to thrive. Together we've shown that inclusive employment is not just socially responsible; it's commercially essential." The Multimodal Awards judges praised the partnership as a scalable, evidence-led model for addressing the logistics sector's long-term talent shortage while delivering meaningful social impact. Published Date: July 22, 2026

Nonprofit awards inaugural Feeding Futures Partnership award. Brighter Bites presented the inaugural Feeding Futures Partnership Award to Sysco in recognition of its national partnership and commitment to helping the organization connect families with fresh food and nutrition education. The award was presented on Tuesday, July 14, during a volunteer event and family produce distribution at Houston's Marian Park Sunrise Center. Over the past decade, Sysco has contributed significant philanthropic support to the organization and created a multi-faceted partnership by leveraging its FreshPoint subsidiaries to support produce logistics for Brighter Bites programming in Florida, San Antonio, Dallas, and the Greater DC Metro region. "Sysco has been far more than a financial supporter of Brighter Bites," said Rich Dachman, Chief Executive Officer of Brighter Bites. "They have been a true operational and mission partner, helping us move fresh food into communities, supporting our teams across multiple cities, and consistently stepping up to invest in the health and well-being of families. This recognition reflects not only their generosity, but their deep commitment to creating healthier futures for children." The event brought together Sysco volunteers, Brighter Bites staff, and local families for a day of service and celebration. Sysco team members bagged fresh produce for distribution to families attending the event. Families were able to take home bags of fresh produce as part of the organization's ongoing work to improve access to healthy food. "Sysco is honored to receive this inaugural Feeding Futures Partnership Award. For the past decade, our partnership has reflected a shared commitment to expanding access to nutritious food and strengthening the communities we serve. Together, we're bringing to life Sysco's Purpose of Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another," said April Love, Sysco's vice president, chief inclusion & community impact officer. The event was held at the Houston Independent School District's Sunrise Center, located at Marian Park Community Center in Southwest Houston. Sunrise Center serves as a vital community hub, supporting students and families through wraparound services that remove barriers to learning. Operated in partnership with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the center provides resources and support to strengthen family well-being across the community. "Supporting families takes collaboration, and we're proud to celebrate a partnership that demonstrates what's possible when organizations work together to make healthy food more accessible," added Dachman.