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The FDA says its Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness teams evaluated 69 incidents in 2025, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories. The report lists investigations involving cucumbers, prepared meals and powdered infant formula, while noting that not every evaluated incident becomes a formal response or results in an advisory.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said its Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness teams evaluated 69 incidents in 2025, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories. The figures, in the agency’s newly published annual report, cover work to assess possible foodborne outbreaks and coordinate responses when FDA-regulated foods are suspected of causing illness.
The report describes a sequence of steps rather than a single count of confirmed outbreaks. The CORE Signals and Surveillance Team reviews potential and confirmed outbreaks, as well as certain adverse events. Not every evaluated incident moves forward: some are not transferred to one of the four CORE Response Teams for further action. A response is initiated when an outbreak appears to be associated with an FDA-regulated food and information is passed to a response team to coordinate the agency’s work.
Public health advisories are intended to give consumers actionable safety information when an FDA-regulated food is linked to an outbreak. The report’s total of 11 advisories is separate from its count of 26 responses. The agency also listed responses in which products were linked to illnesses but no advisory was issued, including mangoes, cilantro, parsley, spring mix and sprouts.
The FDA said a public advisory may not be issued when investigators lack enough information about what is causing illnesses while a public health risk is ongoing. The report says confirmed vehicles are recorded on the agency’s CORE Investigation Table. Its investigation list includes incidents that began in 2024 but did not receive an advisory until 2025, and the agency cautions that the list does not include every action related to each incident.
How FDA Responses Can Protect Consumers
The incident count gives readers a view of the volume of cases assessed by a federal team responsible for coordinating foodborne illness investigations, but it should not be read as 69 confirmed outbreaks. The report includes potential outbreaks and certain adverse events, and only some evaluations proceed to a response. That distinction matters when interpreting the numbers and comparing them with other years.
When investigators identify a food source, the FDA can issue an advisory or recommend a voluntary recall, steps intended to limit further exposure. The report also describes possible enforcement measures through the agency’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement, including warning letters, seizure, injunctions and placement of firms on import alerts. Those measures can affect consumers, food businesses and retailers, but the report’s activity totals do not by themselves show how many illnesses were prevented or quantify the impact of each action.
The listed investigations show the range of products and hazards involved in the agency’s work. The report includes a Salmonella investigation linked to cucumbers, a Listeria investigation involving prepared meals and an infant botulism investigation associated with powdered infant formula. It also records recalls and other actions in some cases. These examples illustrate the public-health stakes without establishing that every incident had the same outcome or required the same response.
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How CORE+EP Reached Its Current Form
The FDA established the CORE Network in 2011 to coordinate work on foodborne outbreaks. In October 2024, the agency expanded the program to include an emergency preparedness team focused on food defense, traceability and supply-chain monitoring. The combined group is referred to in the report as CORE+EP.
The report says the teams work through disease surveillance, outbreak response and post-response activities, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local public health agencies, and international public health partners. The FDA’s stated mission for the program is to find, stop and help prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.
The report does not discuss the historical high of 137 incidents in 2013, cited in the source article. That number is not presented as a like-for-like comparison with 2025 in the report material provided. The 2025 figures should therefore be treated as annual activity counts, not as evidence of a trend or a change in food-safety risk.
“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 2025 CORE+EP report
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What the Annual Counts Do Not Show
The report’s totals do not establish how many of the 69 evaluated incidents were confirmed outbreaks, how many involved illnesses that were ultimately tied to a specific product, or how many people were affected. The source material also does not provide a breakdown of the 26 responses by outcome or explain how many cases ended without a public advisory.
It is also unclear from the figures alone whether the totals represent a change in outbreak frequency or risk. The report does not compare 2025 with prior years in the supplied material, and the historical 2013 count does not provide a clear comparison baseline. The agency notes that some investigations may have started in 2024 and that related activity may continue beyond the actions listed.
For several products, the report’s footnote says illnesses were linked to a product but an advisory was not issued. That does not, by itself, explain the evidence available in each investigation or indicate that a product was found safe or unsafe in every case. The FDA points readers to its CORE Investigation Table for confirmed vehicles, but the provided report summary does not supply case-by-case details for all incidents.
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Follow-Up on Open Investigations
The FDA says some response activity can continue after an advisory or recall, including compliance and enforcement work. The report lists actions such as warning letters, recall announcements and import alerts in particular investigations, and cautions that additional activities may be ongoing. Readers can follow public updates through the agency’s CORE Investigation Table and its food-safety advisories.
The next developments will depend on individual investigations: whether investigators identify a confirmed food vehicle, whether firms take or expand recall action, and whether the agency issues further consumer guidance or enforcement measures. The annual report gives a retrospective count for 2025; it does not announce a new recall or identify a newly confirmed outbreak in its own right.
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Key Questions
What did the FDA report about its 2025 investigation work?
The FDA reported that CORE+EP evaluated 69 incidents, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories during 2025.
Were all 69 incidents confirmed foodborne outbreaks?
No. The incident total includes potential and confirmed outbreaks, along with certain adverse events reviewed by the Signals and Surveillance Team. The report says not all evaluated incidents are transferred to a response team.
Why might the FDA not issue an advisory?
The agency said an advisory may not be issued when investigators lack sufficient information about what is causing illnesses during an ongoing public health risk. The report directs readers to the CORE Investigation Table for confirmed food vehicles.
Which investigations did the report highlight?
Examples included a Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers, a Listeria outbreak linked to prepared meals and an infant botulism investigation associated with powdered infant formula.
Do the 2025 figures show that foodborne illness risk rose or fell?
Not by themselves. The figures count evaluated incidents, responses and advisories; the supplied report material does not provide a comparable year-to-year analysis or enough detail to establish a change in overall risk.
Source: rss
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