HHS is requesting $72 million for food safety at the CDC in FY 2026—a small slice of the $94.7 billion total proposed for the department. The CDC’s overall budget would drop to $4.243 billion, down from $9.683 billion in FY 2025. Food safety is mentioned just six times in the 133-page request and is the smallest part of the CDC’s budget. Despite the agency’s key role in foodborne illness detection, the request omits recent staffing cuts and notes prior funding shortfalls.
Budget request cuts CDC’s funding by half; food safety budget hard hit
