A study has demonstrated the economic impacts of foodborne illness outbreaks on supply chains by observing the damages caused by the 2018 Escherichia coli outbreak that was linked to romaine lettuce grown in California.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will conduct targeted sampling of leafy greens as part of the Leafy Greens STEC Action Plan (LGAP). The agency also provided updates on the progress of LGAP and a summary report of a 2021 sampling assignment.

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. 

Due to concerns about Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) has implemented temporary Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) license conditions for romaine lettuce imports from the U.S., specifically California’s Salinas Valley.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA’s ARS) recently published a Research Brief that highlights two recent food safety studies related to Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7.

A recent Danish report outlines the foodborne illness outbreaks that occurred in Denmark in 2021, which nearly doubled from 2020. 

The UK conducts annual surveillance of Escherichia coli with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on retail meats. The 2021 data shows the prevalence of AMR E. coli has remained low and consistent in retail beef and pork since 2015. 

The Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JERMA) recently published a summary of control methods for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in meat and dairy.

A recent study has discovered high levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Escherichia coli in samples of raw chicken meat and chicken fecal matter.

A study by scientists from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s CFSAN and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ARS provides insight about factors that affect the presence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in bagged romaine lettuce.