Federal agencies monitor ongoing foodborne outbreaks as chicken wrap cases rise

Federal agencies updated their outbreak tracking data on Saturday, according to Food Poison Journal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently working on 30 active outbreak investigations. The Food and Drug Administration listed 15 outbreaks that account for 14,168 illnesses, with nine of those listings failing to identify a specific source food. The United States Department of Agriculture listed one outbreak where officials have not identified the contaminated ingredient or whether it entered other products. [1]

An E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to chicken wraps has now expanded to 50 illnesses, Marler Blog reported. The outlet noted that a lawsuit filed in court disclosed the first brand name associated with the outbreak, rather than an announcement from a government agency. Marler Blog also stated that health authorities in Oregon alerted medical professionals about a multistate Salmonella outbreak without notifying the general public. [2][3]

Food Safety News reported that food safety advocates have submitted seven petitions to the Food and Drug Administration and the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. The petitions urge federal authorities to increase testing for dangerous pathogens, document findings, and issue early public warnings before consumers eat affected products. [4]

The latest figures show a rise in infections tied to the ready to eat chicken wrap outbreak. As FTMQ Food reported earlier, the outbreak was previously linked to 38 sickened individuals, during which federal regulators withheld the brand name after products were removed from store shelves. [2][3][10]