Problem/Condition: Approximately 800 foodborne illness outbreaks occur in the United States each year. These outbreaks include approximately 15,000 illnesses, 800 hospitalizations, and 20 deaths. Although illnesses from outbreaks account for a small portion of all foodborne illnesses, outbreak investigations reveal how these illnesses originate by offering crucial data through epidemiologic, environmental health, and laboratory analyses
The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services
Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201
via E-mail
Dear Secretary Kennedy:
As a coalition of consumer, industry and public health stakeholder groups with a vested interest in the Food and Drug Administration’s work on food safety, nutrition
Termination of key advisory committees signals food safety will not be a priority
WASHINGTON DC – Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, issued the following statement today in response to the elimination of the USDA’s National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and National Advisory Committee on Meat
A nice shout-out when Poisoned won the Emmy.
And, here is the trailer:
Two multi-state foodborne illnesses outbreaks have been reported by the FDA since the beginning of the year. However, against how it has been done for decades, the CDC has remained silent. Why?
Last month, the FDA announced that it, the CDC, in collaboration with state, local, and international partners, were investigating illnesses in a multistate
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2025—In response to a reduction in workforce at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a coalition of consumer, industry, and public health stakeholder groups issues the following statement:
“Ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply is a shared responsibility,” the coalition stated. “Food companies are committed to producing safe products.
More people in the United States got sick from contaminated food in 2024 than the year before, and the number of people who were hospitalized or died doubled, according to U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s new report, Food for Thought 2025.
Of the people who were sickened by food in 2024, 98 percent of their illnesses
So says Forbes this morning following reporting of yesterday in Reuters. As one good friend in public health said:
“The damage they are doing will take years or generations to repair. It reminds me of giving somebody a haircut while blindfolded and wildly swinging a straight razor.”
Here is the full post on Forbes:
According to the FDA, for the outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis (ref #1288), the product linked to illnesses has been identified as recalled Sweet Cream-brand mini pastries. See the outbreak advisory for additional information. FDA has initiated an inspection.
For the outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes (ref #1285), the case count increased from 34 to 35 cases.
It is with great sadness that we share that APHL’s global health program had to stop work temporarily in over 50 nations—including shuttering APHL offices in 10 countries—which affects more than 100 individual team members based both in the US and internationally who supported this work. Our work supported early alerts on the existence and
