Articles Tagged with ''outbreak investigations''

“If mandatory authority needs to be strengthened, the Food Safety Caucus stands ready to tackle this issue at FDA’s request,” wrote Congress members in a statement about the ongoing E. coli outbreak involving Raw Farm raw cheese products. Raw Farm has so far refused to recall.

A key cause of the outbreak was determined to be contaminated eggshells used in poultry feed. Cross-sector collaboration and data-sharing were instrumental in solving the investigation.

WHO assessed the overall public health risk as “moderate,” citing the vulnerability of infants, uncertainty around the extent of contamination, and gaps in surveillance and traceability.

The products have been recalled, but have a long shelf life. FDA previously reported working with the manufacturers to determine the root cause of contamination, but has not shared an update at the time of the investigation’s close.

The agency’s Office of Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness (CORE+EP) evaluated 72 incidents, initiated 26 response investigations, and issued ten public health advisories in 2024.

A total of seven patients—four of whom are three years of age or younger—have been sickened in three states. Epidemiologic evidence indicates that RAW FARM-brand unpasteurized cheddar cheese products are the likely vehicle of illness, but product testing is ongoing.

The agency has published a summary of foodborne illness outbreak investigations involving USDA-regulated products in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, alongside an after-action review of a fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to Yu Shang-brand ready-to-eat (RTE) meats that was solved in 2024.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) pâté en croute contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and produced by Drôme Ardèche Tradition has sickened 12 people across France, resulting in two deaths. All patients were hospitalized.

Marking the country’s first use of whole genome sequencing (WGS) in an active foodborne illness outbreak investigation, advanced genomics enabled Moldovan authorities to rapidly solve and respond to a salmonellosis outbreak that sickened more than 140 people in 2025.

Despite having Listeria-positive samples that matched the outbreak strain via whole genome sequencing (WGS), which prompted an FDA Import Alert and a company recall for the suspected vehicle of illness, FDA did not disclose the specific product or any of the firms implicated.