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The FDA’s 2025 report says its Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness teams evaluated 69 incidents, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories. The figures cover different stages of investigation and do not mean that all 69 incidents were confirmed outbreaks or resulted in an advisory.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says its Coordinated Outbreak Response, Evaluation, and Emergency Preparedness teams evaluated 69 incidents in 2025, initiated 26 responses and issued 11 public health advisories. The annual report describes investigations involving potential and confirmed foodborne outbreaks, as well as certain adverse events, and distinguishes early incident review from formal response activity.
The teams, known as CORE+EP, assess information about possible food-related illnesses and coordinate the agency’s response when an outbreak appears linked to a food regulated by the FDA. The report says the Signals and Surveillance Team analyzes incidents, but not every incident it evaluates is transferred to one of four CORE Response Teams for follow-up. The 69 evaluations therefore should not be read as 69 confirmed outbreaks or 69 investigations that reached the same stage.
A response begins when available information indicates that an outbreak may be caused by an FDA-regulated food. Information is then passed to a response team to coordinate FDA work. The report describes advisories as a way to give consumers actionable safety information when such a food is linked to an outbreak. The totals — 69 evaluated, 26 responses and 11 advisories — represent separate steps, not interchangeable measures of confirmed illness or agency action.
Among the high-profile investigations managed by CORE+EP in 2025 were outbreaks involving Salmonella linked to cucumbers, Listeria monocytogenes linked to prepared meals, and infant botulism linked to powdered infant formula. The report also lists responses involving a range of other products and actions, including recalls, warning letters and import alerts. It notes that some investigations began in 2024 even though an advisory was issued in 2025, and says its list is not exhaustive of all FDA activity.
How FDA Reviews Become Consumer Alerts
The figures offer a snapshot of how the FDA’s food incident work moves from detection toward public health action. An evaluation can help determine whether a signal warrants a coordinated response; a response can then involve tracing products, working with other agencies and considering steps to limit further exposure. Not every evaluation produces an advisory, because investigators may not have enough information to identify a source or provide useful consumer guidance.
When a food is linked to illnesses, the FDA says possible actions include a public health advisory and a recommendation that a company voluntarily recall implicated products. The report also describes potential compliance measures, including warning letters, seizures, injunctions and import alerts. These steps can affect consumers, food businesses and distribution chains, but the report’s activity totals alone do not establish the outcome or health impact of each investigation.
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From CORE Network to CORE+EP
The FDA established the CORE Network in 2011 to coordinate outbreak-related work. In October 2024, it expanded the program to include an emergency preparedness team focused on food defense, traceability and supply-chain monitoring. The 2025 report uses the name CORE+EP for the expanded teams and describes work spanning surveillance, outbreak response, post-response activity and collaboration.
That work includes coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local public health agencies, and international public health partners. The report says the teams’ role is to help find and stop foodborne illness outbreaks and support prevention of future ones. Its table includes illnesses and products associated with investigations, as well as advisories, recalls and other actions; the agency cautions that some listed investigations started in 2024 and that the table does not capture every related FDA activity.
“The work conducted by CORE during and following investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks and certain adverse events culminate in actions that can drive the prevention of additional illnesses and future outbreaks.”
— FDA 2025 CORE+EP report
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What the Annual Totals Do Not Show
The report’s headline figures do not identify the confirmed cause or outcome for every one of the 69 evaluated incidents. They also do not provide, in the source material, a year-to-year explanation for the 2025 total. The report does not discuss the 2013 peak of 137 incidents cited in the coverage, so the available information does not establish why the counts differed or whether the figures are directly comparable in every respect.
The FDA says products may be linked to illnesses without an advisory being issued, often because investigators lack sufficient information about the cause while a public health risk is ongoing. It says confirmed vehicles are reported on the CORE Investigation Table. The supplied report material does not specify the final disposition of every investigation, the number of illnesses or people affected across all cases, or whether further action is planned in each case.
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Ongoing Investigations and Follow-Up
The FDA says some activities related to investigations in the report may still be ongoing, and that the listed actions are not a complete account of its work. Further developments may include updated findings, additional recall announcements, advisories or compliance measures as investigations produce more evidence. The agency’s stated process is to use confirmed links between foods and illnesses to guide public health steps, while sharing consumer advice when it can offer actionable information.
Readers can follow the FDA’s CORE Investigation Table and agency announcements for changes to specific investigations. The 2025 report does not set out a schedule for further updates or identify which cases will lead to additional action, so those details remain dependent on the progress and findings of individual investigations.
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Key Questions
Does the figure of 69 mean there were 69 confirmed outbreaks?
No. The FDA says the evaluated incidents included potential outbreaks, confirmed outbreaks and certain adverse events. Not all incidents reviewed by the Signals and Surveillance Team were transferred for response-team follow-up.
How many responses and advisories did CORE+EP report?
The teams reported initiating 26 responses and issuing 11 public health advisories in 2025. Those are separate stages of activity, not counts of all evaluated incidents.
Why might the FDA not issue an advisory for a linked product?
The FDA says an advisory may not be issued when investigators have insufficient information about what is causing illnesses while a public health risk is ongoing. The agency says confirmed vehicles are reported on its CORE Investigation Table.
What foods were involved in highlighted 2025 investigations?
The report highlights investigations involving cucumbers linked to Salmonella, prepared meals linked to Listeria monocytogenes, and powdered infant formula linked to infant botulism. The report also lists other products and agency actions.
What actions can follow an FDA foodborne illness investigation?
According to the report, possible steps include public health advisories, recommendations for voluntary recalls and compliance actions such as warning letters, seizures, injunctions or import alerts. The action taken depends on the investigation and its findings.
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