A series of multistate foodborne illness outbreaks stretching into late 2025 has sickened hundreds of people across the United States, leading to hospitalizations, deaths, and widespread product recalls. Federal and state health agencies are actively managing investigations involving a range of pathogens, from the familiar threats of Salmonella and E. coli to the persistent danger of Listeria, which has proven particularly deadly in a recent outbreak linked to prepared pasta meals. These concurrent incidents highlight the ongoing vulnerabilities in a complex food supply chain, even as investigative technologies become more sophisticated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) collaborate with state and local partners to track, investigate, and contain such outbreaks. Their work relies on systems like PulseNet, a national database of bacterial DNA fingerprints, which allows officials to connect illnesses across different states that might otherwise seem unrelated. Despite these advanced tools, the fundamental challenge remains: preventing pathogenic bacteria from contaminating a vast array of foods, from fresh produce and animal products to newer categories like dietary supplements and home-delivered meals.
A Deadly Listeria Outbreak Linked to Prepared Pasta
One of the most severe ongoing investigations involves a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to prepared pasta meals. As of the most recent update on October 30, 2025, the outbreak has sickened 27 people across 18 states. The consequences have been severe, with 25 of the 26 people with available information requiring hospitalization. Tragically, six deaths have been reported from Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. In one pregnancy-associated case, the illness resulted in a fetal loss.
The investigation, a collaborative effort by the CDC, FDA, and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), has traced the contamination to pre-cooked pasta supplied by Nate’s Fine Foods, Inc. This pasta was used as an ingredient in a variety of ready-to-eat meals sold under multiple brand names at major national retailers. The outbreak demonstrates the ripple effect a single contaminated ingredient can have throughout the food industry. Because the pasta was a component used by various companies, the resulting recalls have been wide-ranging.
Recalled products include:
- Sprouts Farmers Market Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad with specific use-by dates between October 10 and October 29, 2025.
- Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo with “best if used by” dates spanning from September 20 to October 10, 2025.
- Kroger deli bowtie and penne pasta salads sold between August 29 and October 2, 2025.
- Albertsons store-made deli pasta salads with sell-through dates from September 8 to October 4, 2025.
The investigation reached a critical point when the meal manufacturer FreshRealm tested individual ingredients used in its recalled meals. The company’s testing confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in linguine pasta samples, and whole genome sequencing later confirmed it was the same strain causing the outbreak. Listeria is particularly dangerous because it can survive and grow in refrigerated temperatures. Symptoms of listeriosis can take up to ten weeks to appear, but the infection is especially risky for pregnant women, newborns, adults aged 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems.
Salmonella’s Diverse Pathways: From Pets to Powders
While Listeria outbreaks are often characterized by high severity, Salmonella remains a leading cause of foodborne illness due to its sheer volume and diverse transmission routes. Health officials are currently managing several Salmonella outbreaks with distinct sources, underscoring the bacterium’s pervasiveness.
Bearded Dragons and Household Exposure
In a reminder that foodborne pathogens aren’t always foodborne, the CDC is investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Cotham infections linked to pet bearded dragons. As of November 3, 2025, 17 people across 11 states have been reported sick, with six hospitalizations and one death from Kentucky. Alarmingly, the median age of those sickened is just two years, and 53% of patients are under five years old.
Epidemiologic and laboratory data firmly point to contact with pet bearded dragons as the source. Of the 14 people interviewed, eight reported contact with a bearded dragon before getting sick. Health officials note that at least one child who did not directly touch the animals became ill, likely from indirect contact with the reptile or its environment in the household. Samples taken from a sick person’s bearded dragon in Ohio were a match for the outbreak strain. This same Salmonella Cotham strain has been linked to previous outbreaks in 2024 and from 2012 to 2014, all connected to bearded dragon exposure.
Contaminated Moringa Leaf Powder
In another incident, a more unusual vehicle for Salmonella has been identified: moringa leaf powder. The FDA and CDC are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Richmond infections linked to a single lot of organic moringa leaf powder supplied by Vallon Farmdirect PVT LTD of India. This contaminated ingredient has triggered a cascade of recalls for products that used it, including:
- Food To Live brand Organic Moringa Leaf Powder and Organic Supergreens Powder Mix.
- All Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder, regardless of lot code.
- Organic Moringa Leaf Powder sold on the Africa Imports website.
The investigation was aided when the Virginia Department of Health collected an open sample of the moringa powder from an ill person’s home, which tested positive for the outbreak strain. The FDA’s traceback investigation found that a single lot of moringa powder from the Indian supplier was the common thread explaining all illnesses. This outbreak highlights the complexities of the global supply chain, where a single contaminated ingredient from an international source can end up in numerous products on U.S. shelves.
Home-Delivery Meal Kits
A now-closed outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis, declared over on November 21, 2025, was linked to certain home-delivery menu items from Metabolic Meals. This outbreak sickened 21 people in 13 states, sending eight to the hospital. In a concerning development, whole genome sequencing showed that the bacteria from sick people had predicted resistance to certain antibiotics, meaning if treatment had been necessary, some commonly recommended drugs might not have worked. Of the 15 people interviewed, 13 reported eating a Metabolic Meals prepared menu item before becoming ill, leading the company to recall the affected products.
E. coli and the Persistent Risk of Raw Products
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) remains a top concern for food safety officials, with several outbreaks occurring in 2025. These bacteria can cause severe symptoms, including bloody diarrhea, and may lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious condition that can cause kidney failure.
A notable ongoing outbreak in Washington State is linked to aged raw milk cheese from Twin Sisters Creamery. The Washington State Department of Health is reporting that samples of the cheese have tested positive for two different STEC strains: E. coli O103 and E. coli O26. As of November 12, 2025, the outbreak includes ten cases – nine Washington residents and one from Oregon. Molecular fingerprinting confirmed that the E. coli strains found in ill people are extremely similar to the strains found in multiple varieties of the recalled cheese, including Farmhouse, Whatcom Blue, and Peppercorn Farmhouse.
This incident underscores the inherent risks associated with consuming unpasteurized (raw) dairy products, even when aged, as the law requires. Health officials specifically advise that pregnant women, newborns, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems should avoid any cheese made with unpasteurized milk unless it is heated to 165°F or until steaming hot.
The National Context and Historical Patterns
To understand the significance of these ongoing outbreaks, it is helpful to view them in the broader context of foodborne illness in the United States. According to the CDC, major pathogens are responsible for an estimated 9.9 million domestically acquired foodborne illnesses each year, resulting in approximately 53,300 hospitalizations and 931 deaths. Norovirus is the leading cause of illnesses, while Salmonella is the leading cause of death.
Research into the sources of foodborne illness reveals consistent patterns. A CDC analysis estimated that produce, which includes fruits, nuts, and vegetables, accounts for nearly half (46%) of all foodborne illnesses. However, when it comes to fatal infections, the most common sources are meat and poultry, largely due to Salmonella and Listeria. This aligns with the severity seen in the ongoing Listeria outbreak linked to pasta.
The regulatory process for managing these threats is methodical. When a food recall is initiated, it is typically because the producer has reason to believe a product may make consumers ill. Recalls can be triggered by the discovery of pathogens like Salmonella, foreign objects, or undeclared major allergens. For consumers, the advice is straightforward: if a product matches all the details in a recall notice – brand, product name, date, etc. – they should not open or consume it. Instead, they should return it for a refund or dispose of it properly.
Analysis & Next Steps
The food safety landscape in late 2025 is marked by a convergence of long-standing challenges and emerging trends. What is new in the current environment is the increasing identification of outbreaks linked to complex, multi-ingredient prepared foods and niche products like dietary supplements and moringa powder. This matters because it shifts the responsibility for final food safety further from the consumer and more heavily onto manufacturers and regulators. When a single ingredient like pre-cooked pasta or moringa powder becomes contaminated, it can invisibly infiltrate dozens of branded products, making it difficult for consumers to protect themselves through vigilance alone.
The population affected by these outbreaks is, in a sense, everyone who eats. However, the burden is not shared equally. The severe outcomes in the Listeria outbreak, with a median age of 74, and the Salmonella outbreak from bearded dragons, primarily affecting children under five, highlight the extreme vulnerability of the very young and the very old. Similarly, individuals with compromised immune systems, whether from age, chronic illness, or medical treatment, face disproportionately high risks from infections that healthier individuals might weather with less severe consequences.
Moving forward, the path is not toward eliminating all risk, which is an impossibility in a biological system, but toward building more resilient defenses. For consumers, the necessary response involves a combination of heightened awareness and meticulous hygiene. This means paying close attention to public health alerts and recall notices, properly cleaning surfaces after handling recalled products, and understanding the specific risks for vulnerable household members. For the food industry and regulators, the work is systemic. It requires strengthening preventative controls across global supply chains, enhancing traceability so contaminated ingredients can be found and removed faster, and continuing to invest in the advanced molecular tools like whole genome sequencing that make precise outbreak detection possible. The ongoing investigations serve as a sobering reminder that the work of keeping food safe is never finished, demanding constant vigilance from the farm to the fork.
