PolitiFact is reporting on public concerns regarding food safety, President Donald Trump's assertions about the Reflecting Pool, and a fact-check of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s claim about U.S. COVID-19 death rates.

Regarding food safety, PolitiFact noted a rise in public anxiety due to recent recalls involving salmonella-contaminated eggs, E. coli in frozen berries, cyclospora in iceberg lettuce, and glass in Pillsbury bread rolls. It said Steven Mandernach, executive director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials, maintains that the U.S. food supply remains "among the safest in the world" and sees no change in its safety level. However, PolitiFact highlighted that food safety experts find it difficult to assess real-time safety and anticipate that the Trump administration's cuts to public health entities will likely weaken food safety guardrails in the long term, though short-term effects are less clear.

PolitiFact also reported on President Trump's continued claims of vandalism at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., despite the Justice Department withdrawing charges against individuals accused of damaging the landmark. It said the Justice Department filed a motion on July 31 to dismiss felony charges against David Hearn, an Olympic canoeist, after new evidence from the Interior Department indicated that faulty repairs, not vandalism, caused the peeling on the pool's liner. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro signed the motion, which attributed the damage to "flawed" contractor work. PolitiFact noted that Trump criticized Pirro and the Justice Department, insisting there was vandalism and claiming people were "cutting it with a box knife." PolitiFact rated Trump's statement False.

Additionally, PolitiFact fact-checked a claim by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who stated in a CNN interview that the U.S. had the highest COVID-19 death rate of any nation. PolitiFact found this statement to be False. While the U.S. recorded the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths globally, over 1.1 million between January 2020 and March 2023, it did not lead the world in its overall rate of death from the illness. PolitiFact said Peru had the highest death rate, and other countries like Russia, Mexico, and Brazil had higher excess mortality rates during the pandemic's initial two years.