How FDA Investigates Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Learn how foodborne illness outbreaks are investigated. This video shows what FDA does to ensure the food supply is safe and how it identifies and removes food from the market that is causing people to get sick. It explains each step of the investigation and how CDC, FDA, and state public health laboratories work together to solve the mystery using science and modern technologies such as whole genome sequencing.

The CDC estimates that about 48 million people get sick each year from foodborne pathogens in the United States. Some of the more well-known causes of recent outbreaks include Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and Cyclospora. To reduce outbreaks of foodborne illness, we must remain focused on prevention. To speed up outbreak investigations, we must leverage new technologies to create a more traceable digital food system.

For more information about foodborne outbreaks, you can follow FDA on Twitter and sign up for food safety alerts at the FDA website.

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