Protecting families from contaminated food and water
All fields are required
Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Our Blog,Outbreaks & Recalls on May 3, 2025
A foodborne illness outbreak involves two or more people getting sick from the same contaminated food or drink.
But how do investigators figure out that sick people are linked to an outbreak? How is a specific source identified?
It is an interesting but complicated process.
Investigating a foodborne illness outbreak starts at the CORE.
The CORE network, that is.
Within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is a group of people that make up the Coordinated Outbreak Response & Evaluation network.
Most of the outbreak investigation happens in coordination with this group.
Here’s the process.
Most cases of foodborne illness are not reported. Most of the time people experience mild illnesses. Ones that resolve on their own in a few days and do not require medical attention.
If a sick person doesn’t get medical attention, they are not tested for foodborne pathogens. If they are not tested, they are never diagnosed. A necessary step to launch the foodborne illness outbreak investigation.
It takes a few people sick enough to get medical care to prompt an outbreak investigation.
For the ones that do seek medical attention, usually a stool sample and some bloodwork are part of the diagnostic process.
This is where the information starts.
If a foodborne germ is found in the patient sample, the results of the lab work are submitted to the doctor and the public health department.
From there, the public health department will analyze the genetic information of the sample. This is called whole genome sequencing (WGS). This generates a genetic fingerprint for the sample. A special way to compare the sample from the sick person to other patient samples or ultimately a food sample.
PulseNet, established in 1996, is a database of genetic fingerprints. Some from patient samples. Some from food samples.
According to the FDA, over a million DNA fingerprints are documented in the PulseNet database.
It is this database where connections are made.
“When multiple people get sick from around the same time with the same DNA fingerprint, that indicates a possible outbreak and we launch an outbreak investigation.”
In an informational video, the FDA explains how foodborne illness outbreak investigations are started.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) manages and monitors the PulseNet database. There are always a certain level of foodborne illnesses reported to this database. Most not involved in a foodborne illness outbreak.
If a trend is discovered, sick patients are interviewed. They are asked what they ate in the weeks prior to becoming sick and where they got the food.
Unfortunately, it can take a few weeks for laboratory data to be analyzed. So this information may not be fresh in the interviewee’s mind. To assist this part of the information gathering process, investigators may ask for receipts or access to shopper loyalty card data.
If enough people share a common food, the CDC will contact either the FDA or the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pick up the investigation for a food source. The USDA handles meat and poultry. As well as some dairy and egg products. The FDA handles fruits, vegetables, and many packaged foods.
For the FDA, this involves the CORE network. For the USDA, this involves the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS).
Both agencies use similar processes.
For the purpose of this post, lets follow the FDA’s CORE network.
The traceback investigation process is the “backbone” of the detective work that goes into identifying where the contaminated food may have come from and where it may have been contaminated.
This process is quite time sensitive, because every day a source evades investigators is another day that potentially contaminated product is still available for purchase. Allowing more and more people the potential to become sick.
It’s a race against time.
And expiration dates.
The traceback investigation process analyzes the supply chain to map out potential sources of contamination from “farm to fork.” Since most of the food we consume is processed through several different touch points, there are countless places where a potential contamination event may occur.
If an initial food source can be determined, a CORE team will start at the facility level.
A site inspection takes place and sampling activities are performed.
Depending on the outcome of sampling results, the CORE team may perform an inspection at a farm and collect samples there.
If a sample from a farm or facility contains a pathogen, the same WGS genetic analysis is performed on those samples. The DNA fingerprint from product or facility (or farm) samples is compared to patient outbreak samples.
If there is a match, successful product identification has occurred.
The next step is to help remove the product from the market and reduce future illness opportunities.
If the food product is still available for sale, consumers are warned through a recall notice. Most of the time, when a food manufacturer is notified of the outbreak investigation findings, they initiate a voluntary recall.
If a company refuses to recall, fortunately Federal lab provides for certain enforcement action.
If necessary, the FDA can make a mandatory recall, seize the food product, or even obtain an injunction that would prevent distribution of the potentially contaminated food.
In addition to the recall announcement, the appropriate agency (FDA, USDA, and/or CDC) will make an outbreak announcement.
This will include data about how many people are sick and from what states. It will also contain updates on the status of the investigation and what food to avoid eating.
Most of the time it can take several weeks between the time a person seeks medical treatment and being linked to an ongoing foodborne illness outbreak investigation.
This is because it takes time for samples to be screened, genetic information to be analyzed, data to be uploaded into PulseNet, and links to be made.
By the time the sick person is interviewed on what they consumed prior to becoming sick, they may have forgotten important information.
For this reason, receipts and access to store loyalty shopping card data or often requested.
If you become sick and believe you may be part of a foodborne illness outbreak, there are a few things you can do to help your situation.
If you believe you have become sick from eating contaminated food, even if you don’t know for sure what caused it, making the list as soon as possible is very important.
Go ahead and write down the foods you have eaten in the week prior to becoming sick. Include where you got them. If you ate from a restaurant, did you dine in or get it as take out? Be as specific as possible while the information is fresh in your mind.
If you believe that ingredients or prepared foods have made you sick, it is a good time to clean out the fridge. Clean the surfaces and walls of your refrigerator with warm soapy water or a disinfectant. Wash all countertops or anything that may have come into contact with the suspected food.
Wash your hands when you are done.
If you are sick with a foodborne illness, do not prepare food for others. You may pass your illness along to others. In this case, sharing is certainly not caring.
If you have become sick from consuming food, it is a good idea to reach out to a food poisoning lawyer. The Lange Law Firm, PLLC has successfully represented families with situations just like yours to help hold those at fault accountable.
Call (833) 330-3663 or fill out the online submission form for a free, no obligation consultation to go over the details of your situation.
Keep you family safe by staying up to date on food recalls. You can subscribe to get FDA recall notices in your email’s inbox. Visit the FDA or USDA’s recall pages regularly. And stay up to date on food safety topics in the news on the Make Food Safe blog.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “What Happens During a Foodborne Illness Outbreak and What Should You Do If You Get Sick?,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)