Big Food Is Creating ‘Fake’ Health Groups to Confuse Consumers
A top official in the Department of Health and Human Services accused an advocacy group with ties to multiple corporations that produce processed foods of helping attack Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pro-organic foods pitch.
Secretary Kennedy, who promised special attention to the U.S. food supply, dismissed criticism of the Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) handling of the cyclospora outbreak as “invalid” and not linked to reductions in force at the agency, Politico reported Saturday. Singling out a number of critics, HHS senior adviser Calley Means went on to allege in an X post that same day that the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness (STOP) is “a fake ‘food borne illness advocacy’ group [funded] to give quotes to media attacking RFK’s ‘real food’ pitch and argue ultraprocessed food is safer.”
STOP, HHS, and Means did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
You actually can’t make this up.
These companies are funding a fake “food borne illness advocacy” group to give quotes to media attacking RFK’s “real food” pitch and argue ultraprocessed food is safer.
This is the group quoted in article, run by former Biden official. https://t.co/buiG5ypURU pic.twitter.com/p7QtI0Yzcf
— Calley Means (@calleymeans) August 8, 2026
Cyclospora is a parasite which can cause cyclosporiasis — which is characterized by severe diarrhea — in its hosts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 10,000 domestic laboratory-confirmed cases of cyclosporiasis — linked to certain supplies of contaminated iceberg lettuce — since May 1, 2026, in addition to another 12,000 reports which have not been fully evaluated.
“We do have the [cyclospora] outbreak under control,” Kennedy said during a July 21 press conference. “We’ve identified the source of the outbreak. We and the companies that are involved have implemented a recall.” (Read more from “Big Food Is Creating ‘Fake’ Health Groups to Confuse Consumers” HERE)
