The latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that the number of Campylobacter and Salmonella infections in England remained high or increased in 2025, while listeriosis cases stayed stable from the previous year.
The agency has also reopened a previously closed Salmonella outbreak investigation linked to powdered moringa supplements, with 22 new reported illnesses in four additional states.
Notable pathogen–food commodity pairings emerged, including Clostridium botulinum and Alaskan traditional fermented meats and fish. The analysis was conducted by FDA and CDC researchers.
CDC has published a report summarizing the multistate enteric disease outbreaks it solved in 2024, of which 29 were foodborne, resulting in 1,533 illnesses, 519 hospitalizations, and 19 deaths.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses several foodborne pathogens that have been recently highlighted by researchers due to their unusual nature, emergence, and increasing public health significance, including a rare Salmonella strain, an STEC/ETEC hybrid, Group B Streptococcus, and drug-resistant Shigella.
The E. coli outbreak involving Raw Farm unpasteurized dairy products has ended with one raw cheese sample matching isolates from a different 2025 outbreak. In an April 29 hearing, Congresspeople questioned whether U.S. Health Secretary Kennedy influenced FDA’s failure to mandate a recall.
In 2025, a genetically unique hybrid STEC/STEC strain was the cause of a foodborne illness outbreak that affected exclusively adults, with 90 percent of patients developing hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) and three deaths occurring.
The outbreak strain of Salmonella Bochum is extremely rare. Children and adolescents aged 2–15 years represent 75 percent of outbreak patients. Patient interviews and a case-control study point to a certain brand of chocolate-hazelnut spread as the vehicle of illness.
During its investigation of an ongoing Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak involving Raw Farm-brand unpasteurized cheddar cheese, FDA detected E. coli in a product sample not matching the current outbreak strain, but instead matching a strain from a different 2025 outbreak.
The company says the recall is being issued “under protest” and “as a path forward,” while continuing to contest the epidemiological evidence provided by FDA.
