The past two years have seen a series of significant foodborne illness outbreaks across the United States and Europe, involving everything from ready-to-eat pasta meals and raw cheese to fresh produce and oysters. These outbreaks were driven by pathogens including Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, hepatitis A virus, and Vibrio vulnificus and have resulted in hospitalizations, deaths, and major product recalls. The following summary examines the major outbreaks of 2025 and early 2026, their causes, and their outcomes.
Listeria in Prepared Pasta Meals
The most severe outbreak of 2025 involved Listeria monocytogenes contamination of prepared pasta meals sold at major retailers including Walmart, Kroger, and Trader Joe’s. According to the CDC, a total of 28 people were infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria across 19 states, with illness onset dates spanning from August 1, 2024, to November 16, 2025. Of those infected, 27 required hospitalization, and seven deaths were reported with one each in Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, and Utah. One pregnancy-associated illness resulted in fetal loss.
The outbreak investigation revealed that the source of contamination was pasta supplied by Nate’s Fine Foods, Inc., which was used in prepared meals produced by FreshRealm. On September 30, 2025, Nate’s Fine Foods expanded its recall of pre-cooked pasta products after a sample of linguine pasta tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The initial recall in June 2025 involved three ready-to-eat pasta products shipped to Kroger and Walmart. However, the recall expanded significantly over the following months. By October, products from Trader Joe’s, Albertsons, Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Giant Eagle, King Soopers, Payless, Ralph’s, Smith’s, Scott & Jon’s, and Sprouts had all been affected. In total, after the initial three products, 15 additional types of ready-made pasta products were recalled.
Among those interviewed by health officials, seven of 13 (54%) reported eating precooked meals, and four of those seven specifically reported eating chicken fettuccine alfredo purchased from the refrigerated section at Walmart and Kroger. The median age of those sickened was 75 years, and 68% were female. The true number of illnesses was likely higher, as many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria.
The outbreak was declared over on February 12, 2026, with recalled foods no longer available for sale. However, PIRG’s Food for Thought 2026 report highlighted significant delays in the recall process, noting that the first illness occurred in August 2024 but recalls were not announced until June 2025.
Salmonella Outbreaks: Eggs and Supergreens Powders
Multiple Salmonella outbreaks also occurred throughout 2025 and into 2026. In August 2025, a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to eggs sickened 95 people across 14 states, with 18 hospitalizations. The majority of cases, 73 people, were in California. On August 27, 2025, Country Eggs, LLC recalled its Large Brown Cage Free “Sunshine Yolks” eggs distributed in California and Nevada from June 16, 2025, through July 9, 2025. No deaths were reported.
A separate Salmonella outbreak earlier in 2025 was also linked to eggs. On June 6, 2025, August Egg Company recalled eggs distributed to restaurants and retailers across Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming. That outbreak resulted in 21 hospitalizations but no deaths.
Another significant Salmonella outbreak in 2025-2026 involved a very different food source: supergreens supplement powders containing moringa leaf powder. Between August 22, 2025, and February 27, 2026, 97 people were infected with one of the outbreak strains of Salmonella across 32 states. Of those, 26 (29%) were hospitalized, though no deaths were reported. Public health officials interviewed 67 people, and 59 (88%) reported eating a product containing moringa leaf powder. Specifically, 55 reported Live it Up Super Greens supplement powders, three reported Why Not Natural moringa powder capsules, and one reported consuming both products. FDA and state partners detected the outbreak strains in moringa leaf powder ingredient samples and opened product samples. The outbreak was declared over in early 2026, but public health officials warned that the products have a long shelf life and may still be in consumers’ homes.
E. coli O157:H7 in Raw Cheese and Raw Milk
During 2025 and early 2026, an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak was linked to raw dairy products sold by Raw Farm, LLC, the largest raw milk farm in the country. As of April 2026, nine people had been confirmed infected across three states (California, Florida, and Texas), with illness onset dates ranging from September 1, 2025, to February 20, 2026. Of those with information available, three required hospitalization, and one person developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious condition that can cause kidney failure. More than half of those sickened were children under five years old.
State and local public health officials interviewed eight people or their caregivers; all eight reported consuming raw dairy products, and seven specifically reported consuming Raw Farm-brand products. In 2026, five people reported consuming Raw Farm-brand raw cheddar cheese, while in 2025, two sick people reported consuming Raw Farm-brand raw milk.
The outbreak investigation was notable for the company’s resistance to recall efforts. On March 15, 2026, the FDA recommended that Raw Farm voluntarily recall its raw cheese products. The company declined, and on March 30, after additional illnesses were reported, the FDA again recommended a recall, but Raw Farm did not respond. The Congressional Food Safety Caucus, chaired by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), urged FDA to force a recall, stating: “We have one message for Raw Farm and FDA: get it off the shelves, now”.
On April 2, 2026, after initially refusing, Raw Farm voluntarily recalled certain raw cheddar cheese products, though the company stated it “disputes being the cause of this outbreak”. The recall impacted approximately $1.5 million of the company’s product. This was not Raw Farm’s first outbreak. The farm had been identified by CDC and FDA as the likely source of a similar 2024 E. coli outbreak.
Hepatitis A in Frozen Berries Across Europe and the United States
Frozen berries continued to be a significant source of hepatitis A virus (HAV) contamination throughout 2025 and early 2026. Globally, hepatitis A incidents linked to frozen berries surged by a factor of 39 between 2022 and 2025, with incident mentions rising from a baseline of sporadic reports to levels more than 30 times higher by 2025.
In Sweden, a hepatitis A outbreak linked to frozen strawberries and raspberries expanded to 11 cases between September 2025 and March 2026. The 11 patients, six men and five women aged between 17 and 64, lived in different parts of the country. All had eaten frozen imported strawberries and raspberries that had not been heated before consumption. However, the suspected source could not be confirmed as the virus was not detected in any berry samples. Symptoms of hepatitis A include fever, fatigue, poor appetite, nausea, stomach pain, dark urine, and jaundice, beginning 15 to 50 days after exposure.
Vibrio vulnificus: Flesh-Eating Bacteria from Raw Oysters
Raw oysters contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus, often referred to as “flesh-eating bacteria, “ caused multiple deaths and infections in 2025, particularly along the Gulf Coast. In Florida, as of August 2025, 20 cases of Vibrio vulnificus infection had been reported, with five deaths. In Louisiana, 34 people were infected, and six people died in 2025 alone, a higher rate than any previous year over the last decade.
Vibrio vulnificus is typically found in warm, salty waters like the Gulf of Mexico and nearby bays, with higher concentrations occurring when water temperatures rise. The CDC reports around 150 to 200 infections annually in the United States, with a mortality rate of about 20% among those infected, often leading to death within one to two days after symptoms arise. Most infections begin with the consumption of raw or undercooked shellfish, especially oysters. Symptoms can include diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills, but in serious cases, skin breakdown and ulceration can occur, requiring surgery to remove damaged tissue.
Health officials warn that open wounds can also become infected if exposed to salt or brackish water containing the bacteria. Extreme weather events like coastal floods, hurricanes, and storm surges can push coastal waters inland, increasing the risk of Vibrio infections for individuals, especially older adults or those with underlying health issues, who may come into contact with contaminated water.
LSU researchers have published new forecasting models in the journal Water Research to better predict Vibrio risk conditions, but for consumers, the primary recommendation remains the same: cooking shellfish thoroughly eliminates the risk. Restaurants in Louisiana are required by law to display visible signs about the risk of eating raw seafood.
Additional Recalls and Ongoing Concerns
Beyond these major outbreak events, additional recalls during the period reflect the ongoing challenges in food safety. In February 2026, CS Beef Packers, LLC of Kuna, Idaho, recalled approximately 22,912 pounds of raw ground beef products that may have been contaminated with E. coli O145. The recall was designated Class I, indicating a high health risk.
In May 2026, John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. recalled snack mix products after a third-party supplier’s seasoning was found to contain recalled dry milk powder that may have contained the presence of Salmonella. That same month, Utz Quality Foods issued a voluntary recall of certain varieties of Zapp’s and Dirty potato chips due to similar potential Salmonella contamination.
The frequency of these events has raised public concern. The previously mentioned 2026 PIRG report examined 28 foodborne illness outbreaks announced in 2025, finding they were linked to just over 1,000 reported illnesses. However, the true number is likely much higher, as many foodborne illnesses go unreported. In Sweden, 2025 saw the highest number of Listeria cases ever reported, 158 compared to 114 in 2024, with officials noting that this indicates ongoing and long-term spread from unknown sources.
Analysis and Next Steps
Several significant trends emerge from the outbreak data of 2025-2026. What is new includes the unprecedented scale of the prepared pasta Listeria outbreak, which demonstrated that ready-to-eat refrigerated meals that, while not traditionally considered high-risk, can cause severe illness and death across dozens of states. The seven deaths and 27 hospitalizations from a product as innocuous as chicken fettuccine alfredo mark this as one of the most severe Listeria outbreaks in recent memory. Also new is the continued pattern of raw dairy outbreaks linked to the same producer; Raw Farm has now been implicated in E. coli outbreaks in 2024, 2025, and 2026, raising questions about whether existing regulatory authorities and voluntary compliance frameworks are sufficient to address facilities with persistent safety issues. The company’s initial refusal to recall its products, despite CDC and FDA recommendations, highlights a gap between federal guidance and industry compliance. Additionally, the hepatitis A outbreaks across North America and Europe indicate that frozen berries remain a persistent, global problem. The 39-fold surge in hepatitis A incidents linked to frozen berries between 2022 and 2025 suggests that the issue is not improving but worsening.
This matters because the burden of these outbreaks falls most heavily on vulnerable populations. In the prepared pasta outbreak, the median age of those who died was 75, and 68% of cases were female. Older adults, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems face the highest risks of severe outcomes from Listeria infection. In the raw cheese E. coli outbreak, more than half of those sickened were children under five, a population that did not choose to consume raw dairy products but suffered its consequences. The Vibrio vulnificus outbreaks along the Gulf Coast disproportionately affect older adults and those with underlying liver disease. The populations affected extend beyond the direct consumers to their families, caregivers, and communities. The economic costs of outbreak investigations, product recalls, hospitalizations, and lost productivity are borne by the broader public.
What to do now requires action at multiple levels. For consumers, the most important steps are to stay informed about recalls, heed public health warnings, and align personal practices with official guidance. Ready-to-eat refrigerated meals should be heated until steaming hot before consumption, raw dairy products should be avoided due to their well-documented pathogen risks, frozen berries should be cooked before eating (heating above 185 degrees Fahrenheit for at least one minute inactivates hepatitis A virus), and raw oysters carry inherent risks that individuals, particularly those with underlying health conditions, should understand before consuming.
For the food industry, these outbreaks underscore the need for rigorous environmental monitoring across all product categories, including those not traditionally considered high-risk such as refrigerated pasta meals and supergreens powder supplements. Whole genome sequencing should be standard practice for pathogen surveillance, enabling rapid source identification. Facilities with persistent contamination issues must be subject to meaningful enforcement consequences.
For regulators, the findings support continued investment in surveillance sampling at ports of entry, particularly for imported produce and seafood. The FDA’s 2025 prevention strategy for enteric viruses in berries represents an important step, but the continued surge in hepatitis A incidents suggests more aggressive measures may be needed. The Congressional Food Safety Caucus’s call for FDA to use mandatory recall authority in the Raw Farm case reflects growing legislative impatience with voluntary compliance models.
For researchers, important questions remain about the efficacy of different sanitizers, the ecology of enteric viruses in berry production environments, and the relationship between climate change and Vibrio risk in warming coastal waters. Continued investment in forecasting models and intervention research is essential.
The fundamental purpose of food safety regulation is not merely to track outbreaks but to prevent them. The events of 2025-2026 demonstrate that current systems are failing too often, with too many families grieving preventable losses.
