NEW REPORT: Hospitalizations, deaths from contaminated food doubled in 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Thursday, February 13, 2025 

LOS ANGELES – More people in the United States got sick from contaminated food in 2024 than the year before, and the number of people who were hospitalized or died doubled, according to CALPIRG Education Fund’s new report, Food for Thought 2025.

Nearly 1,400 people became ill from food they ate in 2024 – 98% of them from just 13 outbreaks. This stunning fact shows the consequences of companies producing or selling contaminated food. All but one of the outbreaks involved Listeria, Salmonella or E. coli. As the nation’s largest producer of food, California is responsible for the largest share of recalls.

“This shows that some companies just aren’t doing enough to keep bacteria from contaminating our food,” said Fiona Hines, Advocate for CALPIRG Education Fund. “And, when contamination does happen, companies often don’t conduct proper testing to catch it before it makes us sick.” 

The statistics support the recurrent message that a lot of food was unsafe in 2024. Several high-profile recalls, from Boar’s Head deli meats to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, punctuated the headlines. Meat and poultry recalls through the U.S. Department of Agriculture declined, while recalls by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of everything else from produce to snacks increased. 

Other key findings:

• More than 500 people were hospitalized or died in 2024 from contaminated food, up from about 240 in 2023.
• The number of recalls because of Listeria, Salmonella or E. coli increased significantly and comprised 39% of all recalls.
• One-third of recalls in 2024 stemmed from undeclared allergens or other ingredients that can make people sick.
• Recalls of pet food increased, from seven in 2023 to 11 in 2024.

“Once again, everything from soup to nuts threatened our health in 2024,” Hines said. “If food producers and packagers just focused more on being sanitary and labeling packages for allergens, our food would be so much safer.”

See our consumer guides:
How to keep your food safe at home and How to find out about food recalls

##