The past is never an entirely reliable predictor of what might be coming in the future but there is no doubt that learning from things that have gone before can help prevent the same issues impacting again. By learning from the issues and incidents experienced by others, you can strengthen your resilience without bearing the social, reputational, or commercial consequences firsthand. This article reflects on food recalls and major incidents over the last 18 months, with a particular focus on 2024, to examine some of the key hazards and food types causing these issues together with associated trends that can help shape our assurance programmes in the future.
The last 18 months has not seen the stabilisation of many of the pressures in the food supply chain that was anticipated, perhaps except for price inflation. The pressures of key commodity availability, resource cost/capacity, environmental and social obligations together with the increasingly evident impacts of climate change creates the potential for increased risk as businesses seek to respond in their sourcing and operational strategies. This can be from new hazards due to raw material sourcing changes, formulation or processing changes and/or reduced assurance processes. The key to mitigating these risks is to always use a risk-based approach to identify hazards from any such changes and implement effective controls. The food systems, food security and supply chain challenges in the UK were recently reviewed by the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST).
Major Incidents 2024 and to March 2025
Microbiological hazards remained the most common cause of major food safety incidents over the last 18 months and it will come as no surprise that the top three microbial pathogens were Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). USA advisories, issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for “an outbreak investigation that has resulted in specific, actionable steps for consumers to take to protect themselves” total 1 for Listeria monocytogenes in 2025 and 1 in 2024, 1 for Salmonella spp. in 2025 and 4 in 2024, and 4 for STEC in 2024 (all detailed below).
Listeria monocytogenes
An outbreak of listeriosis implicating supplement shakes that caused 38 cases, 37 hospitalisations and 12 deaths across 21 states prompted an advisory by the USFDA in February 2025. The high number of deaths is likely to be due to the products being sold in institutional settings such as long-term care facilities. This comes exactly one year after another USFDA advisory due to a listeriosis outbreak that caused 29 illnesses, 23 hospitalisations and 2 deaths due to consumption of contaminated Queso Fresco and Cotija Cheese. The largest Listeria monocytogenes outbreak in 2024 in the USA was caused by consumption of contaminated cooked delicatessen meat products (61 cases, 60 hospitalisations, 10 deaths) and ready-to-eat meat and poultry products were also implicated in a USA outbreak affecting 19 people (17 hospitalisations, 2 deaths). Notable outbreaks of listeriosis in other countries included a two-year long outbreak in Switzerland affecting 34 people and resulting in 7 deaths implicating baker’s yeast and an outbreak in Denmark affecting 7 people and resulting in one death following the consumption of fish patties. Another prolonged outbreak (73 cases, 14 deaths) between 2012 to 2024 was reported last year affecting 7 European countries; Belgium (5), Czechia (1), Germany (39), Finland (2), Italy (1), the Netherlands (20) and the United Kingdom (UK) (5) implicating a variety of fish products (smoked, pickled and fresh salmon, trout and other fish species). It is speculated that the strain of L. monocytogenes originated within the fish processing industry and progressively spread leading to these outbreaks across different products and countries.
Salmonella species
Salmonellosis outbreaks drove the highest number of USFDA advisories over the last 18 months (5) and included mini pastries (18 cases, 1 hospitalisation, 0 deaths) (S. Enteritidis), cucumbers (113 cases, 28 hospitalisations, 0 deaths) (S. Typhimurium), eggs (93 cases, 34 hospitalisations, 0 deaths) (S. Enteritidis), cucumbers (551 cases, 155 hospitalisations, 0 deaths) (S. Africana and S. Braenderup) and basil (36 cases, 4 hospitalisations, 0 deaths) (S. Typhimurium). The outbreak caused by mini pastries also caused a similar outbreak in Canada resulting in 69 cases across five Provinces with 22 people hospitalised. Salmonella spp. outbreaks in other countries were numerous including a multi country outbreak implicating cherry tomatoes (S. Strathcona) from Sicily with 232 cases across 16 EU/EEA countries and the UK and an outbreak also in Europe affecting 200 people and implicating rocket salad and baby spinach (S. Umbilo). Other salmonellosis outbreaks implicated bread, meat and pâté from a bakery in Vietnam (379 cases, 1 death), restaurant made potato omelette in Spain (4 cases) and alfalfa sprouts which reportedly caused the largest outbreak recorded in Norway for over 40 years (230 cases, 76 hospitalisations). As well as the impact on individuals, these outbreaks can have huge commercial impacts as seen in the salmonellosis outbreak in France caused by S. Typhimurium that resulted in the recall of over 3 million shell eggs. Although there are multiple factors involved in all of these outbreaks, recent reports have identified the potential impact of increased temperatures due to climate change on foodborne disease (Australian Research Council).
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC)
STEC outbreaks in the last 18 months included 4 that led to USFDA advisories; organic carrots (48 cases, 20 hospitalisations, 1 death) (E. coli O121:H19), sliced onions (104 cases, 34 hospitalisations, 1 death) (E. coli O157:H7), bulk organic walnuts (13 cases, 7 hospitalisations, 0 deaths) (E. coli O157:H7) and raw milk cheddar cheese (11 cases, 5 hospitalisations, 0 deaths) (E. coli O157:H7). Raw milk cheese products were also implicated in a large UK outbreak caused by E. coli O145 (30 cases), an outbreak in France due to E. coli O17 (11 cases) and a single case of STEC infection in a young child in Italy. STEC caused outbreaks implicating ground beef prepared in restaurants in the USA (17 cases), and minced beef in a kindergarten in Iceland (23 cases) (E. coli O145). Finally, leafy green containing sandwiches and wraps were implicated in a large outbreak of E. coli O145 infections in the UK affecting 275 individuals and resulting in one death.
Other microbiological outbreaks
Microorganisms causing outbreaks included Yersinia enterocolitica due to contamination of raw milk cheese in France, Belgium, Norway and Luxemburg (136 cases) and Campylobacter spp. following the consumption of raw milk (18 cases) in Idaho, USA. Botulism outbreaks and cases are frequently associated with home-produced foods and so it was no surprise to see a case of botulism caused by home produced olives in brine, given as a Christmas gift, in Italy. One of the largest outbreaks in the last 18 months was reported in Russia where 417 cases of botulism (172 hospitalisations, 2 deaths) were caused by readymade foods from a food service / delivery company. Other foods associated with botulism included artichoke soup (Italy) (8 cases, 1 death), pork terrine (France) (1 case) and canned tomatoes (Uzbekistan) (1 death) and a case of infant botulism was reported in a 52 day old baby in China following the consumption of water with added honey. Norovirus was responsible for three outbreaks in the USA implicating the consumption of raw oysters; in Los Angeles (80 cases), Alabama (11 cases) and Louisiana (15 cases). Staphylococcus aureus intoxication was believed to the cause of a large outbreak affecting airline passengers from Nepal (43 cases) with the suspected food being beetroot salad served on the flight. Staphylococcus aureus was also responsible for a fatal outbreak in Japan (130 cases, 1 death) following the consumption of lunch boxes from an eel store. A scombrotoxin poisoning outbreak was reportedly caused by temperature abused swordfish in school lunches in Japan (46 cases). Temperature abuse was also suspected in a Clostridium perfringens outbreak implicating shredded chicken in New Zealand (100 cases). Finally, the spread of avian influenza throughout dairy herds in the USA and the detection of the virus in raw milk together with the reported human cases (including one child) associated with close contact with infected animals has raised concerns about the potential wider spread of this hazard. Risk assessments continue to indicate that there is a very low risk of acquiring avian influenza from the consumption of food (1, 2).
Chemical outbreaks
There were few reported outbreaks of acute illness due to chemical contamination of foods and most contamination events led to precautionary recalls. Adulterated alcoholic drinks containing methanol caused a number of fatal outbreaks including one resulting in 33 deaths with 20 individuals needing intensive care in Turkey. This followed similar cases where 6 tourists died following the consumption of methanol adulterated alcohol in Laos. A small outbreak of mushroom poisoning was reported in Hong Kong with four people suffering symptoms and being hospitalised after consuming shop bought porcini mushrooms. The USFDA issued an advisory for chocolate bars, cones and gummies due to acute illnesses in 180 people including 73 hospitalisations and 3 deaths. The products reportedly contained psychoactive substances derived from mushrooms such as muscimol.
Food Recalls 2024
Product recalls are issued to protect consumers as a result of potential exposure to foodborne hazards. In some cases, this may be due to known illness or injury as is the case in many of the major incidents reported above. However, many are entirely precautionary and are not associated with any known illness or injury but as a result of a known presence of a hazard that may cause an adverse event. To provide a global outlook, the databases in four different countries have been reviewed, spanning several continents, namely, the UK, USA, Australia and Germany. In order to compare the datasets, the products were assigned to categories defined by the author and therefore may differ from those specified in the country specific dataset. It is known that these databases are regularly updated with records changed or removed following the accessing of information from this article. Multiple entries of products are included in the review.
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Table 1. Recalls by Country 2024 (Brackets indicates 2023 value) |
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Australia Source: FSANZ |
Germany Source: BVL |
United Kingdom Source: FSA |
United States |
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Most frequent reason for recall |
Allergen (Allergen) |
Microbiological (Chemical) |
Allergen (Allergen) |
Microbiological (Allergen) |
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Top allergen |
Milk / Gluten (Milk) |
Sulphites (Milk) |
Milk* (Milk) |
Milk (Milk) |
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Top microorganism |
Salmonella spp. (L. monocytogenes) |
L. monocytogenes (Salmonella spp.) |
L. monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) |
L. monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) |
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Top food group |
Prepared foods incl. ready meals, pasta, noodles & pies (Dairy)
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Nuts, seeds, dried fruit & ambient snacks (Nuts, seeds, dried fruit & ambient snacks) |
Prepared foods incl. ready meals, pasta, noodles & pies (Prepared foods incl. ready meals, pasta, noodles & pies) |
Prepared foods incl. ready meals, pasta, noodles & pies (Meat and poultry) |
* Excludes the multiple notices issued for peanuts in mustard powder
Data from the USA, UK, Australia and Germany in Table 1 show how consistent the issues are across different years and also the similarities between countries. Some differences in product recall trends were evident with microbial pathogens overtaking chemicals as the main reason for product recalls in Germany and similarly microbiological contamination elevated this to the top of the USA product recalls. Allergens remained the top drivers of recalls in the UK and Australia.
Insert stock photo of microbial pathogen e,g, Listeria monocytogenes
Listeria monocytogenes remained the top cause of microbiological recalls in the USA and UK and this was nearly double that of the next highest pathogen, Salmonella spp, in both countries. Numbers of recalls for these two pathogens in Australia and Germany were near parity although the total number of microbiological incidents significantly reduced from the previous year in Australia. Of the USA recalls due to L. monocytogenes, over 60% were due to salad or vegetable containing products including prepared meals kits although in a number of these products the contaminated food included cooked meat, used as part of the meal kit. Other foods driving recalls included a number of cheeses and, inevitably, enoki mushrooms. Vegetables were also the main food group driving recalls due to contamination with Salmonella spp. in the USA with the large recalls due to contaminated cucumbers accounting for a high number although many other products also caused multiple recalls including fresh herbs and tahini. In the UK, the recalls due to L. monocytogenes were spread between cheese and cooked meat products whereas the recalls due to contamination with Salmonella spp. were driven by a wide variety of foods including tahini, cheese, nuts, meat pâté and pesto. The Australian recalls for microbiological pathogens were much lower in number and foods causing recalls due to contamination with L. monocytogenes included milk and smoked salmon whereas the Salmonella spp. recalls included sesame seeds, tahini and fruit juice. Foodborne pathogen recalls in Germany were significantly greater than the previous year and were dominated by Salmonella spp. (30%) and Listeria monocytogenes (36%) with tahini and tahini containing products, herbs and seeds being a common cause for the former and soft cheese, cooked meats / sausages and smoked fish being the most common causes for the latter.
Across all four countries, the STEC recalls were predominantly caused by a combination of vegetable products and products of animal origin (ground beef, cheese). The large outbreak of STEC associated with organic carrots were the main driver of recalls in the USA and the outbreak implicating leafy greens resulted in a number of recalls of sandwiches and wraps using these ingredients in the UK.
Undeclared allergens were the biggest cause of product recall events in the UK and Australia, the second most common reason in the USA but remained the least common driver in Germany, behind microbiological, physical and chemical contamination. There were some slight shifts in the most common allergen causing recalls although milk remained the top reason in Australia, the USA and UK. The number of alerts for peanut in mustard would have topped the allergen causes in the UK but these were represented as a single event in the review as it would have distorted the trend analysis on account of the 31 alerts due to the issue. The vast majority of allergen recalls remained due to the misdeclaration of the allergen and simple labelling errors with mispacking of product being an occasional reason.
Interestingly, the undeclared presence of sulphites was the most frequent cause of allergen recalls in Germany, followed by milk whereas gluten jointly occupied the top spot with milk in Australia. In terms of food groups driving recalls, this varied between countries although the combined categories of nuts, seeds, dried fruit & ambient snacks and prepared foods incl. ready meals, pasta, noodles & pies accounted for the majority or close to the majority in all countries (USA 55%, Germany 49%, Australia 52% and UK 54% (excluding the peanut in mustard recalls)).
Although physical contamination of products was not the highest driver of product recalls in any country, they still do cause a large number of recall events due to the associated risk of injury. Physical contamination includes obvious issues such as the presence of glass, metal, plastic, stones, wood, etc. in products but may also include hazards that may cause choking or physical injury due to container explosion as a result of excessive carbonation or fermentation. Germany had the highest percentage of recalls due to physical hazards (28%) followed by the UK (23%), Australia (17%) and the USA (4%). Indeed, physical product recalls were only marginally lower than microbiological contamination as the top reason for recalls in Germany. Metal was the biggest cause of physical recalls in three of the four countries (Germany 52%, UK 45%, USA 36%) whereas plastic was the main driver in Australia (25%). No specific food group predominated in the recall data for physical contamination although there was a tendency towards processed foods including prepared and ambient food.
Chemical contamination events causing product recalls were most common in Germany (26%) and to a lesser extent in the USA (12%) and Australia (10%) but they represented a very small proportion of events in the UK (2%). The reasons for the chemical recalls were dominated by the detection of chemicals above the legal limit such as pesticide or mycotoxin exceedances or the presence of an illegal chemical. Muscimol in confectionary products was one of the most common single reasons for chemical recalls in Germany and the USA and lead in cinnamon was also a further single issue that drove a large number of recalls. The presence of elevated levels of chlorates in soft drinks resulted in a large recall in the UK. The higher number of recalls in the USA were predominantly in supplements where a range of illegal substances were the principal drivers.
It is evident that a detailed understanding of hazards is a fundamental element in the assessment of risk and developing control measures. If this critical part of the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) process is not given sufficient focus, hazards will be missed - a missed hazard means a hazard not controlled. Many food safety management system solutions come with extensive hazard databases to support this key step in the food safety management process.
In addition, to understanding hazards, it is also important to understand the principles of product recall as part of an effective incident management process. There are plenty of useful resources available on the topic of product recalls including fundamental principles and tools for practicing mock recalls.
I hope this short review of some of the main issues over the last 18 months will add to your appetite to use the lessons from the past to build them into improved mitigations for your systems and processes to avoid facing similar issues in your production or supply chains.
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Author
Alec Kyriakides Independent Food Safety Consultant
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