A recent study of ground beef-related Salmonella outbreaks found higher levels of infection among more socioeconomically vulnerable individuals.

While stressing that the U.S. meat supply is safe, USDA has revealed that it is testing ground beef at retail for the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1—also known as “bird flu”—in light of the ongoing outbreak among cattle.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) recently published a summary of the six foodborne illness outbreak investigations involving FSIS-regulated products that took place during Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

This article looks back at the events of the 1993 E. coli outbreak associated with hamburgers served at Jack in the Box restaurants along the U.S. West Coast, examining the regulatory changes inspired by the fatal outbreak and its impact. Also discussed are the corporate and industry changes, spearheaded by Dr. David Theno, that set new standards for leadership and management in foodservice and food safety. 

In an after-action review of a 2022 Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to ground beef, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) highlights the importance of improving outreach to food retail stores about best food safety practices for beef that will be ground.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has summarized its investigations of possible multistate outbreaks caused by Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), and Listeria monocytogenes in 2017–2020. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has published an after-action review for two Salmonella Newport outbreaks that occurred during 2016–2019, classifying the strain as reoccurring.