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The FDA’s 2025 report says its Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness teams evaluated 69 incidents, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories. The report lists investigations involving cucumbers, prepared meals and powdered infant formula, among other products; the figures describe different stages of the agency’s work and do not mean every evaluated incident led to a response or advisory.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2025 CORE+EP report says its investigative teams evaluated 69 food-related incidents, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories. The figures outline the agency teams’ work on potential and confirmed outbreaks and certain adverse events, but they do not mean that all 69 incidents became formal investigations or resulted in a public warning.
The report covers the FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness teams, known as CORE+EP. The teams evaluated incidents through a signals and surveillance group; some were transferred to one of four response teams for follow-up. The FDA says a response is initiated when an outbreak appears to be caused by a food regulated by the agency, allowing a response team to coordinate the agency’s work.
Public health advisories are a separate step. The FDA issues them to give consumers actionable advice when an FDA-regulated food is linked to an outbreak. The report records 11 advisories in 2025, alongside the 26 responses initiated, reflecting distinct measures of activity rather than a one-to-one count of incidents, responses and warnings.
Among the investigations highlighted were Salmonella infections linked to cucumbers, Listeria monocytogenes infections linked to prepared meals, and infant botulism linked to powdered infant formula. The report’s table also lists investigations involving products such as pastries, frozen shakes, eggs, pistachio cream, sprouted beans and moringa powder. Some entries include recall announcements, warning letters or import alerts. The FDA cautions that the table is not an exhaustive account of all agency activity and that some investigations began in 2024, even though an advisory was issued in 2025.
How FDA Outbreak Work Reaches Consumers
The annual totals offer a snapshot of how the FDA moves from detecting a possible food safety signal to coordinating a response and, where warranted, advising consumers. The stages matter because an incident under review is not necessarily a confirmed outbreak, and a response does not automatically mean a public advisory will be issued.
When investigators identify a food source in a multistate outbreak, the report says the agency may issue an advisory or recommend that a company voluntarily recall products linked to illnesses. The FDA may also pursue compliance measures, including warning letters, seizure, injunctions or import alerts. These actions can affect whether products remain available and what information consumers receive, although the report’s counts alone do not show how quickly an investigation progressed or how many illnesses a particular action prevented.
The report also describes work that extends beyond immediate warnings. CORE+EP’s stated mission includes finding, stopping and helping prevent foodborne illness outbreaks through surveillance, response, post-response activities and coordination with the CDC, state and local health agencies, and international partners. That coordination is relevant when illnesses are reported across jurisdictions or when the source may be distributed through a broader supply chain.
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CORE+EP’s Expanded Responsibilities
The FDA established the CORE Network in 2011. In October 2024, it expanded the program to include an emergency preparedness team focused on food defense, traceability and supply-chain monitoring. The 2025 report therefore covers the expanded CORE+EP structure, rather than only the original outbreak response network.
The report says incidents evaluated include potential outbreaks, confirmed outbreaks and certain adverse events analyzed by the CORE Signals and Surveillance team. Not every incident reviewed by that team is passed to a response team. The report also notes that 2025’s total was lower than the 137 incidents recorded in 2013, the high identified in the source material. It does not explain the reasons for that difference, so the figures should not be treated as evidence on their own of changing illness levels or investigative performance.
The FDA also identifies responses in which products were linked to illnesses but no public advisory was issued, including mangoes, cilantro, parsley, spring mix and sprouts. The agency says this typically happens when investigators lack sufficient information about the cause of illnesses while a public health risk is ongoing; confirmed vehicles are reported on the CORE investigation table.
“The work conducted by CORE during and following investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks and certain adverse events culminate in actions that can drive the prevention of additional illnesses and future outbreaks.”
— FDA’s 2025 CORE+EP report
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What the Annual Counts Do Not Show
The report’s headline totals do not specify how many of the 69 evaluated incidents were confirmed outbreaks, how many involved adverse events, or how many were closed without a response. It also does not establish that the 26 responses and 11 advisories correspond to the same set of incidents; they are counts of different activities.
The supplied report coverage does not give a detailed comparison explaining why 2025’s total was below the 2013 high, nor does it provide a like-for-like measure of illness burden, investigation duration or outcomes. The investigation table is explicitly not exhaustive, and some cases listed may have started in 2024. The number of people affected in each highlighted investigation and the full status of every related compliance action are not established by the reported summary.
Advisory counts also cannot by themselves show whether consumers were exposed before a warning, how effectively advice reached them, or whether a recall prevented additional illnesses. Those outcomes require case-specific information beyond the annual activity totals.
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Further Case Updates and FDA Actions
The FDA says additional activity related to incidents in the report may still be ongoing. Readers seeking case-level developments can look to the agency’s CORE investigation table and individual outbreak advisories for confirmed food vehicles, recall announcements and updates. The agency’s report says confirmed vehicles are reported on that table, while it warns that the table itself does not capture every activity.
For investigations that remain active, the next developments may include identification of a food source, a public advisory, a recall announcement or further compliance action. The report does not provide a schedule for additional updates or identify which listed matters remain open. Any new conclusions about particular products or firms will depend on the FDA’s case-specific findings and subsequent agency notices.
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Key Questions
What did the FDA report about its 2025 investigative work?
The report says CORE+EP evaluated 69 incidents, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories during 2025.
Does every evaluated incident lead to an FDA response?
No. The FDA says incidents are first reviewed by its signals and surveillance team, and not all are transferred to a response team for follow-up.
What is the difference between a response and an advisory?
A response begins when an outbreak appears linked to an FDA-regulated food and a response team coordinates agency efforts. An advisory is consumer guidance issued when such a food is linked to an outbreak; the two are different measures.
Which investigations did the report highlight?
Examples include Salmonella linked to cucumbers, Listeria linked to prepared meals and infant botulism linked to powdered infant formula. The report also lists other products and related actions, while noting that its table is not exhaustive.
Why might the FDA not issue an advisory for a product linked to illnesses?
The FDA says an advisory may not be issued when there is insufficient information about what is causing illnesses during an ongoing public health risk. The agency says confirmed food vehicles are reported on its CORE investigation table.
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