Several food companies have recently pulled products from store shelves and menus that posed safety risks, made customers sick or even killed them.

Earlier this month, TreeHouse Foods, a manufacturer of private brands, recalled dozens of frozen waffle and pancake products sold in stores including Kroger and Target because of possible listeria contamination.

Last week, Costco Smoked Salmon and Fresh Express salad bowls they were also recalled due to listeria concerns. No illness has been linked to these products.

In addition, 90 cases of E. coli were tied to sliced ​​onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders in 13 states. One person died, while 27 were hospitalized. And since July, there have been 59 cases of listeria related to Boar’s Head productswhich caused 10 deaths.

Unsafe farming practices, unsanitary facilities, increased prepared foods, and ingredients not yet subject to regulatory scrutiny have fueled foodborne illness.

Recent federal actions aim to better prevent and detect pathogens in food supply chains. Food companies and regulatory agencies are testing more products more often and using more sophisticated methods to help identify contaminated products. And—counterintuitively—frequent recalls suggest these efforts are working.

“The number of recalls that we’re seeing is really a sign that our public health and regulatory system is more robust,” said Craig Hedberg, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “That being said, no one wants to see an outbreak.”

Although multistate outbreaks in the country fell in 2023 to 9 from 13 the previous year, withdrawals are on the rise. Between 2020 and 2023, food recalls increased by over 20%, a food safety journal analysis found.

The top of memories

“We have much better tools for detecting and investigating outbreaks than we did 10 years ago,” Hedberg said. “We have the ability to do whole-genome sequencing of individual isolates, the bacteria that are isolated when someone is sick and comes in and seeks medical care.”

In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration was given the power to issue mandatory recalls in the Food Safety Modernization Act. FDA regulates most food facilities; The Department of Agriculture regulates certain meat, poultry and egg facilities.

“There are a number of ways that the FDA can upset you for not making your food safe,” said Jaydee Hanson, director of policy at the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group.

And because the FDA has recall power, companies won’t sit around and wait to issue one. That’s why they will issue the recalls themselves, Hanson said.

Why do we have outbreaks in the first place?

Better detection methods explain some of the increase in withdrawals. But why do we have outbreaks or need retreats in the first place?

Our food system and diets are constantly changing, which means consumers are exposed to new ingredients, Hedberg said.

“Some of the dangers associated with new food sources or new foods are not fully recognized until something happens,” Hedberg said.

For example, in 2022, almost 400 people developed gastrointestinal disease and liver, bile duct and gall bladder problems after eating lentil and leek crumble from the Daily Harvest meal delivery service.

Those crumbles included country flour, said Hedberg, who The FDA later determined that it was not safe.

Americans are also spending more money on ready-to-eat foods, including lunch meat, food expert Darin Detwiler told Marketplace in July. Increasing the number of prepared foods means there is a greater risk of outbreaks.

For example, lunch meat should be kept below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent listeria growth, but the store’s refrigerator can be left open, said Detwiler, who teaches at Northeastern University. Employees also handle different food items and slice meat, which can increase the chances of cross-contamination.

Cooking food can kill some bacteria. But prepared foods and meals come in prepared stores.

And because consumers don’t cook lunch meat, bacteria from contaminated produce can remain when you bring it home, Detwiler said.

Listeria can also live for a long time in food and processing plants, meaning it is “especially difficult to control,” according to the FDA.

Prevention of food borne diseases

Because our food system is so complex, it can be difficult to find a single solution to address all foodborne illnesses, said Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, director of the research-oriented Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia.

Health inspectors had cited numerous sanitation issues at Boar’s Head in Jarratt, Virginia, before the listeria outbreak. And over the summer, there was a salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers that may have been exposed to untreated canal water.

Bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella, which are often found in animal manureit can contaminate products grown too close to animal feed.

There are some broad measures that regulatory agencies and food manufacturers can implement to stop outbreaks.

At this time, the distance between the leafy greens and the fattening areas it can vary from 400 to 1,000 feet. The Center for Food Safety’s Hanson suggests they should be at least 2,000 feet apart, but “the farther … the better.”

Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from North Carolina, has introduced a bill that would further empower the FDA, allowing it to share key information with state and local regulatory agencies. to improve food safety. That would include laboratory sampling information and consumer complaints. Currently, the information is considered ownerso the agency cannot distribute it, according to Food Safety News.

The The FDA also has a new traceability rule which will enter into force in 2026, requiring companies that deal foods like cheese, cucumbers and leafy greens to keep additional records of those products as they move through the supply chain.

“It will be easier for the FDA to look back along the supply chain and figure out where the contamination is and where they can target recalls,” said Laurie Beyranevand, director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School. School.