Consumer purchase records were successfully used for hypothesis generation in the outbreak investigation and provided a critical foundation for traceback activities.
At the 2025 Food Safety Summit, the much-anticipated Town Hall session on Thursday featured a candid discussion and attendee Q&A with officials from FDA, USDA-FSIS, CDC, and AFDO.
Initially launched in 2024, the investigation was reopened in April 2025. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis confirmed that the strain of Listeria found at Fresh & Ready Foods LLC matches the strain of Listeria causing illnesses in this outbreak.
According to internal FDA and CDC reports uncovered by NBC News and attorney Bill Marler, in November 2024, a multistate Escherichia coli outbreak linked to lettuce sickened 89 people, resulting in 36 hospitalizations and one death. Mention of the outbreak was not made public until the investigation was closed, nor were any details shared openly.
This episode of Food Safety Five discusses newly published CDC data about the pathogens causing foodborne illness and contributing factors of outbreaks, as well as research by CDC, USDA, and FDA scientists exploring the use of AI analysis of whole genome sequencing data for foodborne illness source attribution.
The European Commission published a FAQ document to clarify the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2025/179, which mandates whole genome sequencing (WGS) testing and data reporting for important foodborne pathogens when suspected to be associated with a foodborne illness outbreak.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is investigating a listeriosis outbreak involving five illnesses and three deaths. Desserts served at healthcare facilities are being considered as the potential vehicle of illness. The desserts tested positive for low levels of Listeria monocytogenes, but have not been confirmed as the source of the outbreak.
In a new study, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) evaluated the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to detect foodborne illness outbreaks by analyzing online restaurant reviews. Although several challenges were identified that must be overcome before AI can be used routinely in epidemiological investigations, UKHSA believes the approach shows promise.
Between January 2023 and January 2025, a total of 509 illnesses were caused by the consumption of alfalfa sprouts across ten countries in Europe. The outbreak encompasses eight Salmonella serotypes, and the sprouts were traced back to seeds grown in a single geographical region in Italy.
