Food safety violations can appear in several different statistical signals: a multistate outbreak investigation, a laboratory-diagnosed infection, a food category linked to illness, or a regulatory response. In 2024, CDC investigated 203 possible multistate enteric outbreaks, while FoodNet sites recorded 24,624 laboratory-diagnosed infections in their historic catchment area. These figures describe different parts of the food-safety system and should not be added together.
Contents
- Multistate investigations in 2024
- Outbreak illnesses and severe outcomes
- Laboratory-diagnosed infections
- Domestic foodborne burden
- Food categories linked to major pathogens
- FDA response and recall statistics
Multistate investigations in 2024
The CDC’s Summary of Possible Multistate Enteric (Intestinal) Disease Outbreaks in 2024 reports 203 possible multistate investigations. Of those, 62 were determined to be outbreaks. Investigators solved 45 of the 62 confirmed outbreaks by identifying a suspected or confirmed source, equal to 73% of confirmed multistate outbreaks.
Among the 45 solved investigations, a suspected source was identified for 17 outbreaks and a confirmed source for 28. Contaminated food was linked to 29 solved multistate outbreaks, while animal contact was linked to 16. These categories describe the identified source of solved investigations; they are not a count of all food-safety violations or all outbreaks occurring in the United States.
The distinction between possible investigations and confirmed outbreaks matters. A possible investigation is an early signal requiring evaluation, whereas the 62 confirmed outbreaks passed CDC’s determination threshold. The 45 solved investigations show how often a source was identified, but the remaining 17 confirmed outbreaks did not have a suspected or confirmed source in the reported results.
| 2024 CDC multistate measure | Count |
|---|---|
| Possible multistate investigations | 203 |
| Confirmed outbreaks | 62 |
| Solved confirmed outbreaks | 45 |
| Suspected source identified | 17 |
| Confirmed source identified | 28 |
| Share of confirmed outbreaks solved | 73% |
Salmonella accounted for 38 multistate outbreaks investigated by CDC in 2024, down 30% from 54 in 2023. The change compares CDC-investigated multistate Salmonella outbreaks across those two years; it is not a measure of every Salmonella infection or every local outbreak.
Outbreak illnesses and severe outcomes
Foodborne multistate outbreaks in 2024 caused 1,533 reported illnesses, 519 hospitalizations, and 19 deaths, according to the CDC summary. Seeded vegetables were associated with 754 illnesses in solved multistate foodborne outbreaks during the year. Vegetable row crops, chicken, and dairy each caused four solved multistate foodborne outbreaks.
Some individual investigations illustrate why total outbreak counts alone do not show severity. The 2024 multistate deli-meat Listeria outbreak caused 65 illnesses, 64 hospitalizations, and 10 deaths. A separate outbreak linked to precooked meat and poultry caused 24 illnesses, 22 hospitalizations, and three newborn deaths.
Cheese was linked to four multistate outbreaks in 2024: three Listeria outbreaks and one STEC O157 outbreak. The CDC’s source descriptions connect foods and outcomes at the outbreak level; they do not establish that every product in a broad food category was unsafe.
These numbers also show why hospitalization and death counts should be read alongside illness counts. The deli-meat Listeria outbreak, for example, had 64 hospitalizations among 65 reported illnesses. That is a description of this reported outbreak, not a general hospitalization rate for all Listeria infections or all deli meat.
Laboratory-diagnosed infections
The FoodNet 2024 Preliminary Data report records 24,624 laboratory-diagnosed infections in the historic FoodNet catchment area during 2024. FoodNet also recorded 6,746 hospitalizations, 178 deaths, and 1,040 outbreak-associated infections in that catchment area.
FoodNet’s pathogen counts show how the diagnosed total was distributed across infections included in the report:
- Salmonella: 9,219 laboratory-diagnosed infections.
- Campylobacter: 4,312.
- Shigella: 4,057.
- STEC: 3,635.
- Yersinia: 1,782.
- Vibrio: 720.
- Cyclospora: 717.
- Listeria: 182.
The figures are laboratory-diagnosed infections, not an estimate of every illness. A person who does not seek care or does not receive a laboratory diagnosis is not represented in this measure. FoodNet 2024 data are preliminary and come from the historic catchment area, so they are not a census of all U.S. illness.
The catchment-area scope is also different from the CDC multistate-outbreak scope. FoodNet tracks diagnosed infections in participating surveillance sites, while the multistate report covers investigations coordinated by CDC. Neither measure should be treated as a direct count of inspections that found violations.
Domestic foodborne burden
FoodNet recorded 20,693 domestically acquired infections in its historic catchment area during 2024. Those domestically acquired infections accounted for 6,201 hospitalizations and 164 deaths, along with 1,013 outbreak-associated domestically acquired infections.
The domestically acquired pathogen counts reported by FoodNet included 7,811 Salmonella cases, 3,203 Shigella cases, 2,955 STEC cases, 400 Cyclospora cases, and 178 Listeria cases. “Domestically acquired” identifies the acquisition classification used in the surveillance data; it does not mean that the source was necessarily a domestic food producer or that a regulatory violation was established.
| FoodNet 2024 measure in the historic catchment area | All recorded | Domestically acquired |
|---|---|---|
| Infections | 24,624 | 20,693 |
| Hospitalizations | 6,746 | 6,201 |
| Deaths | 178 | 164 |
| Outbreak-associated infections | 1,040 | 1,013 |
The all-infection and domestically acquired columns answer different questions. The first includes the full FoodNet measure reported for the historic catchment area. The second isolates infections classified as domestically acquired. Both remain preliminary surveillance counts, not a national census and not a complete count of food-safety violations.
Food categories linked to major pathogens
The IFSAC 2023 Annual Report analyzes food categories associated with outbreak illnesses over 1998–2023. The analysis included 1,037 Salmonella outbreaks, 285 E. coli O157 outbreaks, and 68 Listeria outbreaks assigned to a single food category.
IFSAC estimated that more than 75% of Salmonella illnesses were attributed to six categories: chicken, fruits, seeded vegetables, pork, other produce, and beef. More than 85% of estimated E. coli O157 illnesses were attributed to vegetable row crops and beef. The model attributed zero E. coli O157 illnesses to eggs and to the oils-and-sugars category in this analysis.
For Listeria, more than 75% of estimated illnesses were attributed to dairy, vegetable row crops, and fruits. The model attributed zero Listeria illnesses to other meat or poultry, game, other seafood, grains and beans, oils and sugars, or seeded vegetables.
These percentages are model-based attribution estimates from outbreak data for 1998–2023. They are not direct inspection violation rates, and a zero attributed value in this model does not mean that a food category can never be contaminated or associated with illness. The analysis is useful for comparing modeled food-category contributions, but it should not be presented as a tally of failed inspections.
FDA response and recall statistics
The FDA’s CORE 2024 Annual Report reports that FDA CORE teams evaluated 72 foodborne-outbreak or adverse-event incidents in 2024. They responded to 26 incidents and issued 10 advisories.
For comparison, FDA CORE evaluated 69 incidents in 2023, responded to 25, and issued 10 advisories. The 2024 and 2023 counts are regulatory-response measures. They are not equivalent to the CDC’s possible-investigation or confirmed-outbreak counts.
The FDA’s Annual Report on the Use of Mandatory Recall Authority FY 2024 reports zero reportable mandatory food recalls performed during fiscal year 2024. It also reports zero public-health advisories covered by FSMA section 206(f) during fiscal year 2024.
A zero mandatory-recall count means there was no reportable use of FDA’s section 423 mandatory-recall authority during FY 2024. It does not mean there were zero voluntary recalls, zero recalls of every kind, or zero food-safety problems. Likewise, FDA CORE incident counts measure the team’s evaluation and response activity, not the total number of unsafe products in commerce.
Taken together, these statistics describe a layered system: CDC investigations identify and characterize multistate outbreak signals, FoodNet counts laboratory-diagnosed infections in a defined surveillance area, IFSAC models food-category attribution over a long period, and FDA reports its response and recall-authority activity. Keeping those scopes and measurement periods separate is essential when interpreting food safety violations statistics.