These are the top 10 food poisoning outbreaks of 2024, in reverse order. There were quite a few outbreaks last year, with many illnesses and a few deaths. These are the top 10, in reverse order, with an addendum of five more outbreaks of interest. Addendum: Five Notable Outbreaks Five outbreaks that were important were added in an addendum this year. They were the Grimmway Farms carrot E. coli O121:H9 outbreak, the Infinite Herbs Salmonella outbreak, the deadly Rico Lopez soft cheese Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, the deadly Yu Shang Listeria monocytogenes outbreak, and the Gibson Farms walnuts E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. Number 10: Boar's Head The 10th outbreak of 2024 was the deadly Boar's Heat deli meat Listeria monocytogenes outbreak that sickened at least 61 people in … [Read more...]
Cargill Meat Ground Beef Recalled For E. coli O157:H7
Cargill Meat ground beef in several forms is being recalled for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. No illnesses have been reported to the company to date in connection with the consumption of these products. The recalling firm is Cargill Meat Solutions of Hazelton, Pennsylvania. About 16,243 pounds of raw ground beef products are included in this recall. They were produced on April 26 and April 27, 2024. The recalled items include: 2.25 pound plastic-wrapped trays containing "93% LEAN 7% FAT ALL NATURAL LEAN GROUND BEEF" with lot code 117 and establishment number "EST. 86P" printed on the back of the label. 1.33 pound plastic-wrapped trays containing four "PRIME RIB BEEF STEAK BURGERS PATTIES" with lot code 118 and establishment number "EST. 86P" on the back of the … [Read more...]
Health Alert Issued For Ground Beef For Possible E. coli
A health alert has been issued for different types and brands of ground beef for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination, according to the USDA. The establishment that produced the ground beef was not named, but it was sold in several iterations under different brand names. A recall was not requested beaus these items are no longer available for consumers to purchase. No illness have been reported to date in connection with the consumption of these products. The raw ground beef products were produced on March 28, 2024. These items have a "Use/Freeze By" date of April 22, 2024, and a packaging date of "032824." You can see the list of recalled products at the USDA web site, and you can also see pictures of the labels for those products. The recalled products include ground beef … [Read more...]
FDA Weighs in on Raw Farms Raw Cheddar E. coli O157:H7 Outbreak
FDA weighs in on the Raw Farms raw Cheddar E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that has sickened at least 10 people in four states. Four people have been hospitalized in this outbreak, and one person has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a type of kidney failure. The cheese has been voluntarily recalled by Raw Farm. The recalled products include original flavor, all sizes of blocks and shredded packages, and Cheddar with added Jalapeño Flavor, all sizes of blocks and shredded packages. The cheese was sold at retailers nationwide. Ill patients have reported buying the cheese at Sprouts Farmers Market and Bristol Farms. The FDA will update the advisory if they discover other retailers who have sold this cheese. The patient case count by state is: California (4), Colorado (3), Texas … [Read more...]
Valley Meats Ground Beef Patties Recalled For E. coli O157:H7
Valley Meats Ground Beef Patties are being recalled for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this issue. The recalling firm is Valley Meats of Coal Valley, Illinois. About 6768 pounds of the raw ground beef products are included in this recall. They were produced on December 22, 2023. They include: 12 pound boxes containing “ANGUS GROUND BEEF PATTIES” with product code 1208PL, run number 3356GRDB, date code 231222, use by date 01/15/2024, and time stamps between 7:36:38AM to 08:00:48AM. 16 pound boxes that contain “ANGUS GROUND BEEF PATTIES” with the product code 1253PL, run number 3356GRDB, date code 231222, use by date 01/15/2024, and time stamps between 7:25:50 AM to 08:00:36AM. 28 pound boxes containing … [Read more...]
Another Reoccurring E. coli O157:H7 Strain Linked to Leafy Greens
The CDC has identified another reoccurring E. coli O157:H7 strain that is linked to leafy greens outbreaks, according to the September issue of that agency's Emerging Infectious Diseases Dispatch. This strain is in addition to the other reoccurring strain that was mentioned by the CDC in August's Dispatch. Bacterial strains can be identified as reoccurring, emerging, or persisting (REP). Reoccurring strains repeatedly cause acute outbreaks, separated by periods when no illnesses are reported. Emerging strains are previously novel or rare strains that increasingly cause illness. And persisting strains cause illnesses consistently over a long time frame. Whole genome sequencing, which maps a pathogen's DNA, is used to find people sickened by the same bacterial strain. And WGS is … [Read more...]
Peeler Farms Ground Beef Recalled For Possible E. coli O157:H7
Peeler Farms Ground Beef, and R-C Ranch Texas Craft Meats Ground Beef is being recalled for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. No illnesses have been reported to the company to date in connection with the consumption of these items. The recalling firm is Dean & Peeler Meatworks of Poth, Texas. The fresh ground beef products were produced on August 22, 2023. They include: 1 pound, 5 pound, and 10 pound vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing "Peeler Farms WAGYU BEEF GROUND BEEF" with lot code 17836 printed on the label. 5 pound vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing "R-C RANCH TEXAS CRAFT MEATS WAGYU RC13610 STEAKHOUSE BLEND - GROUND BEEF 5 lb" with lot code 17816 represented on the label. 8 ounce vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing "R-C RANCH TEXAS CRAFT MEATS WAGYU … [Read more...]
USDA Starts Testing Ground Beef For Big Six E. coli Strains, O157
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has started testing ground beef, bench trim, and other raw ground beef components for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains (STEC) that are adulterants. They include the "Big Six" O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145 as well as O157. The testing started on February 1, 2023. This new program was announced in the Federal Register on June 4, 2020. Before this new program, the government only tested beef manufacturing trimmings for the Big Six and O157:H7. Otherwise, all raw beef products are tested for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella bacteria. FSIS has also started testing for the non-O157 STEC in ground beef samples collected at retail stores and in samples of imported raw beef products. Any positive results will be subject to … [Read more...]
How Many Food Poisoning Outbreaks Were Unsolved in 2022?
How many FDA-regulated food poisoning outbreaks were unsolved in 2022? Taking a look at the FDA's CORE Outbreak Investigation Table, there were 25 multi-state outbreaks in 2022 that the FDA believes were linked to foods that agency monitors. Of those 25 outbreaks, 13 outbreaks were unsolved. The minimum number of people sickened in those unsolved outbreaks was 483. Every year in the United States, 48,000,000 people are sickened from contaminated food. There are 128,000 hospitalizations and about 3,000 people die. The FDA and USDA started using outbreak tables to inform the public about these events. The tables do not have much information until there is some action that consumers can take. However, before the tables were introduced, the public was never informed about these … [Read more...]
Morasch Meats Diced Beef Recalled For Possible E. coli O157:H7
Morasch Meats Diced Beef is being recalled for possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. There are no confirmed reports of illnesses related to the consumption of this product. The recalling firm is Morasch Meats of Portland, Oregon. The recalled product is raw frozen diced beef. It was produced on August 24, 2022. The item is 30 pound box packages that contain Beef Diced 3/10# bags. The case code on the product is FM010152, the lot code that is stamped on the label is 082422, and the date 8/24/2022 is printed on the case label. Each case has three 10 pound vacuum-sealed, clear plastic bags of the diced beef. The product has the establishment number "EST. 4102" stamped inside the USDA mark of inspection. The beef was shipped to distributors in Oregon for further distribution to … [Read more...]
