- FDA’s Office of Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, & Emergency Preparedness (CORE+EP) has released its 2024 Annual Report, offering stakeholders a comprehensive look at the agency’s foodborne outbreak and adverse event investigations from 2024.
- In 2024, CORE+EP evaluated 72 incidents, initiated 26 response efforts, and issued 10 public health advisories. The report highlights several significant investigations, including a large E. coli outbreak linked to carrots, a long‑running cheese‑associated outbreak dating back to 2018, and a novel series of adverse events tied to certain chocolate bars, cones, and gummies.
- Of the 26 responses initiated, produce remained the dominant source of identified outbreaks, accounting for 55% of all responses with a confirmed product link; primarily tied to romaine lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, onions, carrots, sprouts, basil, and parsley. Multi‑ingredient foods represented another 20% of identified sources, including shrimp salad, frozen shakes, bagged salad mixes, and the chocolate bars, cones, and gummies associated with a novel adverse event series. Meanwhile, dairy products accounted for 10%, while fruits, shell eggs, and nuts each comprised 5%. The agency issued ten public health advisories, nine tied to multistate outbreaks and one related an event series, resulting in a significant number of regulatory actions including multiple voluntary recalls, expanded recall announcements, two warning letters, a country‑wide import alert for Salmonella‑contaminated cucumbers, and a consent decree of permanent injunction for Listeria‑contaminated queso fresco and cotija cheese products.
- The report also highlights progress in FDA’s implementation of the Food Traceability Rule (FTR) under FSMA Section 204(d), signaling an important shift in how outbreak investigations will be conducted moving forward.
- Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor federal responses to foodborne outbreaks and related regulatory developments.