Recall/Crisis Management

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In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Dr. Kimberly Baker, a food safety expert with the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service, about her focus on foodborne pathogens and recall prevention, as well as the Food2Market program that helps small food entrepreneurs comply with food safety regulations.

More than 100 people have been sickened and three have died as the result of a foodborne illness outbreak linked to food served at four Italian nursing homes sharing the same meal production center. Investigations are underway.

On February 13, Boar’s Head designated a companywide ‘Boar’s Head Food Safety Promise Day’ and unveiled new safety and sanitation controls and processes, following the fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to its products in 2024.

According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s (PIRG’s) Food for Thought 2025 report, hospitalizations and deaths linked to foodborne illnesses doubled in 2024. Illnesses also increased, 98 percent of which were attributed to just 13 outbreaks. The number of USDA and FDA recalls decreased by 5 percent.

This article examines food recall trends for 2024, including USDA and FDA guidance expanding the scope of recalls and class action lawsuits filed in response to foodborne illness and recall events. The author discusses what these trends mean for industry, and if they are expected to continue into the future.

Despite new regulations, food safety programs, and third-party audits, food recalls are expected to reach a five-year high. Part two of this article series continues exploring the reasons behind this trend, and identifies a list of precursors that, if identified and addressed, could close critical gaps and help prevent recalls.

A house cat in Oregon has died from eating raw cat food contaminated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1), and a product recall was initiated. Additionally, cats in California contracted HPAI H5N1 from different raw pet food. 

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we discuss the top food safety stories of 2024 and their implications, including high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks, the ongoing avian flu outbreak in poultry and dairy cattle, FDA’s Human Foods Program restructuring, rising concerns and evolving legislation around food additives and chemical contaminants, and other topics.

Boar’s Head has responded to a letter from 22 members of Congress probing the company about the recent, fatal listeriosis outbreak linked to its products. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who signed the letter, called Boar’s Head’s response “not credible” and “a classic corporate dodge.”

FDA has declared the outbreak of Escherichia coli infections linked to Grimmway Farms carrots to be over. Although the outbreak strain of E. coli did not match the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strain found in environmental samples, traceback evidence implicates the recalled carrots as the vehicle of illness.