Federal food safety investigators are tracking two new outbreaks that have sickened 65 people, and they have not yet identified the food behind either one. On Sept. 23, the Food and Drug Administration added a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak with 40 illnesses and an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak with 25 illnesses to its table of foodborne illness outbreak investigations. When FDA updated the table on Sept. 25, both case counts were unchanged and neither food had been named.
For most households, there is no product to pull from the refrigerator yet. The risk is not evenly shared, however. Listeria is especially dangerous during pregnancy and for adults 65 and older, while E. coli O157:H7 can lead to kidney failure in young children. For now, knowing the symptoms is the most useful step.
