At a glance
Food Safety Updates From CDC is an electronic newsletter of food safety news for educators, consumer advocates, government officials, and industry representatives.
Food Safety: Summer Scoop
Summer is upon us! With warmer days come more picnics, cookouts, and time spent enjoying meals outdoors. It’s also a season when foodborne germs can spread more easily, especially when food isn’t kept at safe temperatures. This quarter, we’re sharing new data, key findings, and steps you can take to keep yourself and others healthy all summer long!
Infant Botulism Outbreak Linked to Nara Organics Infant Formula
Recall alert
Read more about the outbreak > > >
New Foodborne Disease Data
CDC recently released several new reports on foodborne illnesses data for 2024. Together, they show that many germs that make people sick are still common—and that we need continued efforts to keep food safe.
A new summary report highlights findings from 203 possible multistate enteric (intestinal) disease outbreaks investigated by CDC in 2024. These outbreaks were caused by germs like Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, and Campylobacter. The most common sources included vegetable crops, chicken, dairy, and backyard poultry. While Listeria outbreaks were fewer, they caused the most serious illnesses. Downloadable data from this summary can be used to identify gaps in food safety and animal husbandry practices and inform policies and practices to prevent similar outbreaks. Learn more about these outbreaks and their impact here.
Preliminary data from Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), which represents 15% of the U.S. population, show that reported infections for some common foodborne germs increased or stayed the same in 2024 compared with 2016–2018. Infections increased for Cyclospora, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Vibrio, and Yersinia andremained steady for Listeria and Salmonella. Read the full report or use FoodNet Fast to explore all data reported to FoodNet since 1996.
CDC released a summary report of U.S. infections reported for 2024 to the Cholera and Other Vibrio Illness Surveillance (COVIS) system. The summary describes the Vibrio species causing the most illness; whether people were infected by eating seafood or through contact with marine water, seafood drippings, or marine animals; and patterns in who became sick. You can read the full report here.
The Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC) released a report of annual estimates of foodborne illness attributed to 17 food categories for Salmonella, E. coli O157, and Listeria for 2023. IFSAC calculated the estimates using 1998–2023 foodborne outbreak data. The report continues IFSAC's work to inform food safety initiatives, interventions, and policies.
CDC Studies Shed Light on Concerning Strain of Salmonella Infantis in the United States
Two recent CDC studies examined Salmonella Infantis, which has re-emerged as a leading type of Salmonella causing human infection in the United States. Both studies looked at a persistent Salmonella Infantis strain (called REPJFX01) that is resistant to the main antibiotics recommended for treating Salmonella infections and has been linked to chicken consumption. One study found that the increase in Infantis infections among people is driven by REPJFX01. The other found that REPJFX01 emerged in humans and chickens at the same time, suggesting that chickens might be an important carrier of the strain. Findings from these analyses will help CDC better understand REPJFX01 and collaborate with partners on measures to reduce its spread. Read the papers here and here.
Rise of Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigellosis in the U.S.
On April 9, CDC published this article about extensively drug-resistant, or XDR, shigellosis. Shigellosis is a diarrheal disease caused by Shigella bacteria. Although most infections do not need antibiotic treatment, antibiotics may be used for severe illness or to reduce the spread of Shigella among people at risk. The bacteria causing XDR shigellosis are resistant to all FDA-approved oral antibiotics, which makes treatment challenging.
Since 2015, a growing number of shigellosis cases in the United States have been caused by XDR Shigella. Data show that most cases of XDR shigellosis were adult men. About one third of sick people were hospitalized.
CDC continues to monitor XDR Shigella, work with state and local public health partners, and share prevention and treatment recommendations to help prevent illness and protect public health.
Summer Food Safety Tip
This summer, whether you go on a picnic or host a barbecue or outdoor buffet, keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Hot foods should stay heated to a temperature above 140°F, and cold foods should be kept at 40°F or lower to help prevent harmful germs from growing in the "danger zone."
More tips > > >
