The FDA updated its CORE Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks table on October 21, 2026. The CDC updated its Current Outbreaks page the same day. Here is where things stand.
What’s new at FDA this week
For the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak (ref #1417), FDA has now initiated an on-site inspection and sampling. Forty-six people are sick. The food has not been identified.
For the Salmonella Newport outbreak (ref #1403), the case count rose from 116 to 119 and the outbreak has been declared over. No food has been identified.
For the Cyclospora outbreak (ref #1392), the case count was adjusted from 240 to 241. No food has been identified.
For the Listeria monocytogenes outbreak (ref #1379), the outbreak has ended with 11 sick. No food has been identified.
Six outbreaks are still ongoing
Listeria monocytogenes (ref #1415), posted September 30: 11 sick, food not yet identified. Traceback, inspection and sampling have all been initiated.
E. coli O26:H11 (ref #1419), posted September 25: raw milk cheese. See the FDA advisory for the case count and recall information. Traceback, inspection and sampling initiated.
E. coli O157:H7 (ref #1421, USDA 2026-04), posted September 23: “multi-ingredient wrap with chicken (suspect).” Fifty sick. Traceback, inspection and sampling initiated. Still no recall, no brand, no manufacturer, no states, and no hospitalization or HUS numbers.
Listeria monocytogenes (ref #1417), posted September 23: 46 sick, food not yet identified. Traceback, inspection and sampling initiated.
Salmonella Bovismorbificans (ref #1411), posted September 10: sprouts. See the FDA advisory. Traceback and sampling initiated.
E. coli (multiple strains) and Salmonella Agona (ref #1394), posted August 19: alfalfa sprouts. See the FDA advisory. Traceback, inspection and sampling initiated.
Nine outbreaks are over, but the investigations remain open
Salmonella Newport (ref #1403): 119 sick, food not identified. Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- (ref #1402): 43 sick, food not identified. Cyclospora (ref #1398): 22 sick, food not identified. Cyclospora (ref #1392): 241 sick, food not identified. Salmonella Javiana (ref #1395): jalapeño peppers, see the FDA advisory. Listeria monocytogenes (ref #1379): 11 sick, food not identified. Cyclospora (ref #1390): iceberg lettuce, see the FDA advisory. Cyclospora (ref #1385): 38 sick, food not identified. Salmonella Oranienburg (ref #1387): 99 sick, food not identified.
The scorecard
Of the 15 investigations on FDA’s active list, a food has been linked in six – and one of those, the chicken wrap, is still only “suspect” – but, we know better. In the other nine, no food has been named. Those nine outbreaks alone account for 630 sick people.
Cyclospora stands out. Three of this summer’s Cyclospora outbreaks – 22, 38 and 241 sick, 301 people in all – have ended with no food identified, on top of the outbreak linked to Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce.
And there are two sprout outbreaks on the table at the same time, plus another raw milk cheese outbreak. None of this should surprise anyone. It is exactly why I have been pushing FDA for warning labels on raw sprouts and raw milk cheese.
CDC: 29 active multistate investigations
As of October 21, CDC reports 29 active multistate investigations: 18 Salmonella, 7 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, 3 Listeria and 1 Campylobacter. CDC notes that it typically coordinates between 17 and 40 of these each week – and that not every investigation results in a public outbreak notice. Most do not. CDC’s count also does not include Cyclospora, which FDA tracks on its own table.
FSIS: one active outbreak, and no name
The FSIS outbreak table lists one active investigation: 2026-04, the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak tied to a “Ready-To-Eat Multi-ingredient wrap with chicken (suspect)” – the same outbreak as FDA #1421. FSIS’s entry says the wrap is past shelf-life and no longer for sale, and that FSIS is working with FDA to identify the contaminated ingredient and whether it was used in other products. There is no recall, no public health alert, no establishment name and no establishment number – and, we know better.
Compare that with FSIS’s other 2026 outbreaks, all now closed. For the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to beef kofta (2026-02), FSIS issued a public health alert naming The Kebab Shop restaurant locations. For the Listeria outbreak linked to retail-sliced headcheese (2026-01), FSIS issued a public health alert for the headcheese deli meat products. For the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak tied to chicken (suspect) at the Broome County Correctional Facility (2026-03), the table points to the local sheriff’s and health department’s update.
So, FSIS knows how to name names. FSIS says it posts outbreak data “prior to a specific product being identified” in the name of transparency. But 50 people are sick from a product containing chicken, and if you want to know more, FSIS’s own FAQ tells you to file a FOIA request.
Why names matter
FDA’s table says the agency will not publicly name a specific product “until there is sufficient evidence.” In practice, that means the firms involved in unsolved outbreaks are never named at all, and the companies, retailers and consumers downstream are left guessing.
That is why I have drafted citizen petitions asking FDA to stop treating the identity of outbreak-implicated firms as confidential and to publish retail consignee lists in Class I recalls. I am still taking comments before I file. If you would like a copy, email me – I’d like to hear from you before October 30.