Food law statistics connect public-health surveillance with the practical work of preventing, investigating, and responding to unsafe food. In 2024, FoodNet sites recorded 24,624 laboratory-diagnosed infections, including 6,746 hospitalizations and 178 deaths. During the same year, CDC and partners investigated 203 possible multistate enteric outbreaks, while FDA CORE teams evaluated 72 foodborne-outbreak or adverse-event incidents.
Contents
- FoodNet totals and severity
- Pathogen-specific counts
- Incidence compared with the baseline
- Multistate outbreak investigations
- What outbreak data say about food categories
- FDA response and recall authority
FoodNet totals and severity
The CDC’s FoodNet 2024 Preliminary Data describe laboratory-diagnosed infections reported in FoodNet’s historic U.S. catchment area. These are surveillance counts, not an estimate of every foodborne illness in the country. They are useful for showing the documented burden and the severity of cases that reached diagnosis.
FoodNet sites reported 24,624 infections in 2024. Of those, 6,746 involved hospitalization and 178 were associated with death. The same source reports that 20,693 infections were domestically acquired, representing 84% of all reported infections. Domestic infections accounted for 6,201 hospitalizations, or 92% of the FoodNet total, and 164 deaths, also 92%.
| FoodNet measure | 2024 count | Domestic-acquisition count | Domestic share reported by CDC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory-diagnosed infections | 24,624 | 20,693 | 84% |
| Hospitalizations | 6,746 | 6,201 | 92% |
| Deaths | 178 | 164 | 92% |
The severity figures vary by pathogen and should not be read as a single risk level for all food. Listeria, for example, had 182 reported infections but 175 hospitalizations and 27 deaths. Campylobacter had a much larger infection count, while its reported hospitalization and death counts were 929 and 27, respectively. The figures show why food law and food-safety guidance must consider both frequency and potential outcome.
FoodNet also reported 46 postdiarrheal hemolytic uremic syndrome cases in people under 18 during 2023. Twenty-four of those cases were in children under 5. That pediatric measure belongs to 2023, not 2024, and is presented separately because the measurement period differs.
The way infections are diagnosed is changing. Excluding Campylobacter, 78% of FoodNet bacterial infections were diagnosed by culture-independent diagnostic tests in 2024, compared with 47% during 2016–2018. Among bacterial infections diagnosed by only one method, culture-independent testing alone accounted for 41% in 2024 versus 21% in 2016–2018. Comparisons across years therefore need to account for diagnostic technology as well as changes in illness patterns.
Pathogen-specific counts
Salmonella was the largest pathogen category listed in the 2024 FoodNet results. FoodNet reported 9,219 Salmonella infections and 2,769 hospitalizations, with 63 deaths. Salmonella Enteritidis was the most common fully serotyped Salmonella serotype, with 1,535 infections.
Campylobacter accounted for 4,312 infections, 929 hospitalizations, and 27 deaths. Shigella accounted for 4,057 infections, 1,380 hospitalizations, and 15 deaths. The reported figures make the categories different in both scale and severity: Shigella’s hospitalization count was higher than Campylobacter’s despite a slightly smaller infection count.
| Pathogen or subtype | Infections | Hospitalizations | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salmonella | 9,219 | 2,769 | 63 |
| Campylobacter | 4,312 | 929 | 27 |
| Shiga toxin-producing E. coli | 3,635 | 809 | 21 |
| Shigella | 4,057 | 1,380 | 15 |
| Yersinia | 1,782 | 443 | 16 |
| Vibrio | 720 | 179 | 6 |
| Listeria | 182 | 175 | 27 |
| Cyclospora | 717 | 62 | Not reported in supplied 2024 count |
FoodNet reported 3,635 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections, 809 hospitalizations, and 21 deaths. STEC O157 accounted for 316 infections and 125 hospitalizations. The O157 figures are a subset of the broader STEC category and should not be added to it as a separate total.
The 2024 Yersinia count was 1,782 infections, with 443 hospitalizations and 16 deaths. Vibrio accounted for 720 infections, 179 hospitalizations, and 6 deaths. Listeria’s 182 infections were associated with 175 hospitalizations and 27 deaths. Cyclospora accounted for 717 infections and 62 hospitalizations; the supplied FoodNet count does not provide a death figure for that pathogen.
These are reported infections in FoodNet surveillance, with the source labeling its 2024 results as preliminary data. They are not a complete census of all infections, and the categories are not interchangeable with confirmed food-attribution totals from outbreak investigations.
Incidence compared with the baseline
FoodNet’s estimated incidence measures put 2024 results in context against the 2016–2018 average. The incidence rate ratio, or IRR, compares the estimated 2024 incidence with that baseline. An IRR above 1 indicates a higher estimated incidence than the 2016–2018 average; it does not by itself identify a cause.
| Pathogen | Estimated 2024 incidence per 100,000 | IRR versus 2016–2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Salmonella | 18.0 | 1.03 |
| STEC | 7.1 | 1.30 |
| Shigella | 7.9 | 1.35 |
| Yersinia | 3.5 | 2.62 |
| Vibrio | 1.4 | 1.48 |
The largest relative comparison in this set was Yersinia, with an estimated 3.5 cases per 100,000 people and an IRR of 2.62. Vibrio had an estimated incidence of 1.4 per 100,000 and an IRR of 1.48. The estimated Salmonella incidence was 18.0 per 100,000, but its IRR was 1.03, close to the 2016–2018 average.
FoodNet also gives estimates for domestically acquired infections. Domestic Salmonella incidence was estimated at 15.3 cases per 100,000, with an IRR of 1.00. Domestic STEC incidence was 5.23 per 100,000, with an IRR of 1.15. Domestic Shigella incidence was 6.26 per 100,000, with an IRR of 1.26. Domestic Yersinia incidence was 3.30 per 100,000, with an IRR of 2.60, while domestic Vibrio incidence was 1.17 per 100,000, with an IRR of 1.44.
The incidence figures are estimates, and the comparison period is specifically 2016–2018. They should not be presented as direct counts or as forecasts. The diagnostic changes described by FoodNet are also relevant when interpreting trends over time.
Multistate outbreak investigations
The CDC’s Summary of Possible Multistate Enteric Disease Outbreaks in 2024 reports 203 possible multistate enteric outbreaks investigated by CDC and partners. Sixty-two were confirmed as multistate outbreaks, and investigators identified a suspected or confirmed source for 45 of those 62.
The 62 confirmed multistate outbreaks caused 2,605 illnesses, 861 hospitalizations, and 36 deaths. Contaminated food was linked to 29 of the 45 solved multistate outbreaks. Those solved multistate foodborne outbreaks caused 1,533 illnesses, 519 hospitalizations, and 19 deaths.
CDC issued outbreak notices for 15 investigations in 2024. Twelve of those notices were linked to contaminated foods. The distinction between possible investigations, confirmed outbreaks, solved outbreaks, and public notices matters: each stage represents a narrower group, so the counts should not be combined as though they measured the same population.
These outbreak statistics are an important food-law signal because they show where surveillance, traceback, public communication, and corrective action converge. They also show why a confirmed outbreak count is not the same thing as the total number of foodborne illnesses. Many infections are recorded through routine surveillance without being part of a recognized multistate outbreak.
What outbreak data say about food categories
The IFSAC 2023 Annual Report provides a longer historical view of food attribution. IFSAC identified 4,156 outbreaks from 1998 through 2023 that were confirmed or suspected to involve Salmonella, E. coli O157, or Listeria.
The final attribution dataset was much smaller because of defined exclusions. IFSAC excluded 113 outbreaks under its pathogen-exclusion criteria, 1,755 outbreaks without a confirmed or suspected implicated food, and 892 outbreaks whose food vehicle could not be assigned to one of 17 food categories. The final dataset contained 1,390 outbreaks assignable to a single food category.
Of those 1,390 outbreaks, 1,037 involved Salmonella, 285 involved E. coli O157, and 68 involved Listeria. These counts describe the selected attribution dataset for 1998–2023; they are not a ranking of every foodborne pathogen or every outbreak during that period.
The exclusions are part of the result, not a footnote to ignore. A food-category attribution analysis can only assign an outbreak when the available evidence supports both an implicated food and a category. Treating unassigned outbreaks as if they belonged to a category would overstate the precision of the analysis.
FDA response and recall authority
The FDA’s CORE 2024 Annual Report reports that FDA CORE teams evaluated 72 foodborne-outbreak or adverse-event incidents in 2024 and responded to 26. CORE issued 10 public advisories during the year.
For comparison, FDA CORE evaluated 69 incidents in 2023 and responded to 25. The year-to-year figures are operational counts, not estimates of illness prevalence. They indicate the number of incidents evaluated or handled by the CORE teams under the report’s definitions.
Recall authority is a separate measure. FDA’s FSMA Annual Report on the Use of Mandatory Recall Authority for FY 2024 reports 0 reportable mandatory food recalls under its FSMA recall authority in fiscal year 2024. That figure should not be read as zero food recalls of every kind, zero voluntary recalls, or zero food-safety incidents. It specifically concerns reportable mandatory food recalls under that authority during FY 2024.
Taken together, the statistics describe several different layers of food safety: diagnosed infections, estimated incidence, multistate investigations, historical food attribution, incident response, and use of mandatory recall authority. Keeping those definitions and measurement periods separate is essential when using food law statistics to understand risk, compliance, and public-health action.