{"id":83867,"date":"2025-09-29T10:35:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T16:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=83867"},"modified":"2025-09-30T08:43:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T14:43:52","slug":"how-to-stay-safe-from-foodborne-illnesses-and-outbreaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/how-to-stay-safe-from-foodborne-illnesses-and-outbreaks\/","title":{"rendered":"How to stay safe from foodborne illnesses and outbreaks"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"The
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Services issued a public health alert on Sept. 25, 2025, for ready-to-eat meals containing FDA-regulated pre-cooked pasta that may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Are you concerned about recalls on produce, meat or dairy products that have sickened consumers throughout the United States?<\/p>\n

A recent listeria outbreak prompted warnings<\/a> from federal health officials to pull frozen pasta meals from shelves at Walmart and Trader Joe’s.<\/a> Earlier listeria outbreaks tied to frozen chicken alfredo meals sold at Walmart and Kroger have been tied to deaths and multiple illnesses throughout the country, while listeria-contaminated deli meats also triggered deaths and illnesses.<\/p>\n

In addition to listeria, consumers also worry about other foodborne illnesses, including\u00a0norovirus,\u00a0<\/a>E.coli, and salmonella, that can contaminate food.<\/span><\/p>\n

While most foodborne illnesses usually resolve within three days, they are very contagious and can spread quickly throughout a family or in settings like cruises, classrooms and offices, making for a miserable experience. And foodborne illnesses are even more dangerous in children, pregnant women, older people and those with compromised immune systems.<\/p>\n

According to federal estimates<\/a>, there are about 48 million annual cases of foodborne illnesses, causing roughly 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.<\/p>\n

So, what do you need to know when you’re shopping at grocery stores and farmers’ markets, and how can you prevent these illnesses? To answer your top questions about foodborne illnesses and how you can stay safe, we talked with Lauren Bryan, infection program manager at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are foodborne illnesses?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Often called food poisoning, the stomach flu, a stomach bug or a 24-hour gastrointestinal bug, these types of illnesses are caused by bacteria, a virus or a parasite transmitted through fecal-oral transmission. People can get foodborne illnesses in two basic ways: either through human-to-human contact from someone who has used the bathroom and has not washed their hands properly, or through animal waste on ranches that gets into the meat supply or runs through an irrigation system into farms and produce.<\/p>\n

Are foodborne illnesses becoming more prevalent?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Foodborne illnesses are common, and they’re with us all the time. Illnesses can spike as people travel more. And they’re more common around the holidays. Here are times when you should be especially careful:<\/p>\n