Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

Foodborne illness outbreaks happen when two or more people get sick from eating or drinking the same contaminated food or drink. When a foodborne outbreak is investigated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), or other agencies may issue an outbreak notice. These notices provide information about the outbreaks and let people know the actions they should take to stay healthy. Some outbreaks may result in a food recall. The table(s) below show select foodborne outbreaks by year that include California residents who got sick.​ ​

What is CDPH doing about foodborne outbreaks?

Healthcare providers tell their local (county or city) health department about cases of foodborne illness, and in turn, local health departments tell CDPH so public health officials can find and control outbreaks to prevent more people from getting sick. Health departments also collect lab test results from people who are sick. These tests are important because they help determine who is getting sick by the same type of germ (for example, bacteria and viruses).

When CDPH learns of a foodborne outbreak, public health officials work with local, state, and federal health agencies to find out if the illnesses were caused by a common source, such as contaminated food. Local health department officials and CDPH may interview patients over the phone to find out what or where they ate before getting sick. These interviews are an important part of investigating foodborne outbreaks and keeping other people from getting sick. Public health officials may sometimes temporarily close a restaurant involved in an outbreak or remove contaminated food products from stores to help keep more people from getting sick.​

You can help us track and investigate foodborne outbreaks.​​

People often think foodborne outbreaks happen when a group of people gets sick after eating contaminated food at the same restaurant or potluck. But many outbreaks involve people in different places who ate food that was contaminated where it was grown or prepared before it was shipped or sold in stores or restaurants across different states. ​​

1. Report it to your local health department – local health departments tell CDPH about foodborne illnesses so public health officials can identify and control outbreaks to prevent more people from getting sick. By sharing information about your foodborne illness with the local health department, you can help keep other people from getting sick. 
   

2. See a doctor or healthcare provider to get tested – tests can help figure out what kind of germ or chemical made you sick.

3. Keep track of what and where you ate in the past week – the food that made you sick is often not the last food you ate.
   

• ​Write down everything you remember eating and drinking in the 7 days before you got sick: 

• ​Keep track of where you ate or went shopping for food (such as restaurants, grocery stores, food trucks, parties, and other events with food).

• Gather receipts from restaurants, grocery stores, or online food orders. If you took pictures of the food you ate, or have links to menus you ordered from, those can be helpful too.
  

• ​​​​​​If you are enrolled in a food benefits program or a store rewards or loyalty program, that information can help too. These programs keep track of recent purchases and other important details that you might not know or remember (like food brands and purchase dates).      ​
  

​​Gathering this information and sharing it with your local health department and healthcare provider can help with an outbreak investigation – the more details you can remember, the better. 

• ​Learn more: ​

• Using food purc​​hase history to solve foodborne outbreaks

• Shopper loyalty card data – outbreak response success stories​​