Articles Tagged with ''outbreak investigations''

A foodborne illness outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders contaminated with Escherichia coli has caused 49 illnesses, ten hospitalizations, and one death in ten states. Slivered onions used on the sandwiches are the probable vehicle of illness. 

Following the history of serious food safety noncompliances at Boar’s Head’s Jarratt, Virginia plant, which led to a fatal listeriosis outbreak, USDA’s Inspector General has launched an internal investigation into the agency’s handling of the repeated sanitary violations found at the facility.

A U.S. District Court has entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Rizo Lopez Foods, a company that produced queso fresco and cotija cheese products linked to a decade-long listeriosis outbreak, requiring the firm to stop producing and selling certain products until FDA can confirm its compliance with federal food safety regulations.

Members of Congress have written a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking the agency to answer questions about its inspection actions leading up to the fatal Boar’s Head listeriosis outbreak, and about its authorities and processes for preventing such events.

In response to a FOIA petition submitted to USDA by the Associated Press, the agency chose to withhold the requested Boar’s Head inspection and enforcement reports on the grounds that they were being compiled for law enforcement purposes related to the recent listeriosis outbreak.

Recently introduced to U.S. Congress, the Federal and State Food Safety Information Sharing Act aims to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to share crucial food safety information with state and local regulatory agencies to improve foodborne illness outbreak response.

Ice cream has historically been associated with human cases of infection by various foodborne pathogens. Pathogen introduction into ice cream can occur at various points throughout the production process for a range of reasons, which can be addressed through proper food safety controls. 

With a focus on fresh-cut produce in the U.S./North America, this article explores critical questions related to the improvement and modernization of the microbial outbreak investigation process.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) recently published a summary of the six foodborne illness outbreak investigations involving FSIS-regulated products that took place during Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

Using whole genome sequencing (WGS), U.S. federal and state public health officials recently solved a multistate foodborne illness outbreak investigation that has been ongoing since 2014, with the most recent illnesses being reported in December 2023.