Last updated: July 9, 2026
Food Poisoning News reports on food recalls, foodborne-illness outbreaks, food-safety science, and food-poisoning litigation for a U.S. audience. Our readers use our coverage to decide whether food in their homes is safe, so getting the facts right is the whole job. This page explains where our information comes from and how we check it before we publish.
How we approach verification
Food Poisoning News does not operate a separate fact-checking desk, and we do not employ an independent reviewer or a medical reviewer. Instead, verification is built into how our articles are written and edited. Our recall and outbreak reporting is written by a named reporter working from primary documents and reviewed by an editor before it is published. This page describes what that means in practice.
We take responsibility for the accuracy of our work. We verify information against original sources before we publish, and we prefer original documents (agency recall notices, outbreak advisories, and court filings) over second-hand accounts. These are widely recognized principles of accurate reporting, and they are the standard we hold ourselves to.
The sources we treat as authoritative
Not all sources are equal. When sources disagree, we follow this order of authority.
1. Official government recall notices and outbreak advisories
Our recall and outbreak coverage is built first on notices published by the agencies responsible for food safety:
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts for FDA-regulated foods, and its foodborne-illness outbreak investigations.
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Recalls and public health alerts for meat, poultry, and egg products.
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Food safety alerts and investigation notices for multistate foodborne-illness outbreaks.
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Recalls and food-safety advisories for Canada.
- State and local health departments. Recalls, outbreak notices, and case information within their jurisdictions.
When a recalling company issues its own press release through one of these agencies, we treat the agency posting as the authoritative record.
2. Peer-reviewed research
For the science behind an outbreak (how a pathogen spreads, incubation periods, symptoms, and risk to vulnerable groups), we rely on peer-reviewed literature and the agencies above rather than on general-interest summaries.
3. Court filings, for litigation reporting
When we report on food-poisoning lawsuits, we work from the court record (complaints, motions, and other filings) and we identify the court and case where we can, so readers understand that allegations in a filing are claims that have not yet been proven.
4. Established news organizations, for corroboration
We cite reputable news outlets to corroborate or add context, but we treat their reporting as secondary to the primary agency and court records above. Where we can, we trace a news report back to its underlying official source and cite that.
How we verify a recall or outbreak before we publish
Before publishing a recall or outbreak article, we confirm the key facts against the official notice or agency statement, including:
- the product name, brand, and packaging
- lot numbers, establishment numbers, UPC or product codes, and “best by” or sell-by dates
- the recall date and the reason for the recall (for example, the pathogen or allergen involved)
- the states or regions affected and where the product was distributed
- the number of reported illnesses, hospitalizations, or deaths, as stated by the agency.
We link to that official notice so readers can check the record for themselves.
How we attribute and link to our sources
We cite our sources in the body of our articles. When we state a fact drawn from an agency notice, a study, or a court filing, we attribute it and, wherever a public source exists, we link directly to it. This is deliberate. Readers should be able to verify our reporting against the same documents we used, rather than take our word for it.
Why our numbers are dated and attributed to a named agency
Case counts, the number of hospitalizations, and the list of states affected change as an investigation proceeds. For that reason, when we report a number we attribute it to the agency that published it and note the date it reflects, for example “as of the CDC’s update on [date].” A figure that was accurate when an article was first published may be out of date later, and dating the number tells readers exactly which snapshot they are reading.
Developing stories and how we update them
Recalls and outbreak investigations are moving targets. Agencies expand recalls, add affected products, revise case counts, and sometimes identify a different source than first suspected. When the underlying facts change, we update our articles to reflect the current official information and note material updates. An update reflects new developments in the story. It is not the same as a correction, which fixes a mistake on our part. Both are handled openly.
Named sources and anonymous sources
Our food-safety reporting relies on named, official, on-the-record sources (government agencies, published studies, and public court records). We do not typically use anonymous sources, and we do not build recall or outbreak coverage on unverified or unattributed claims.
When we get something wrong
If we publish a factual error, we fix it openly under our Corrections & Clarifications Policy, and we add a dated note to the article describing what changed. If you believe we have published an error (a wrong lot number, an outdated case count, a misidentified product), tell us through our contact page with the article link and the specific correction, and we will review it promptly.
What this means for our readers
We are a small newsroom. We do not have a dedicated fact-check desk or a standing panel of reviewers, and we do not claim to. What we do have is a consistent practice: reporting built on primary government and scientific sources, checked by a reporter and an editor, cited inline so you can verify it, and corrected in the open when we fall short. For any health decision, we encourage readers to confirm the current status of a recall or outbreak directly with the FDA, USDA/FSIS, the CDC, or their state or local health department, and to read this policy alongside our Editorial Standards & Ethics Policy.
Contact us
Questions about our sourcing or a specific article can be sent through our contact page.
Last updated: July 9, 2026