People Got Sick From E. Coli in 15 States- But the FDA Never Told Anyone

A new report says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) knew about a deadly E. Coli outbreak in 2021 and 2022 but never made it public. The outbreak was linked to frozen falafel sold at ALDI under the “Earth Grown” brand. In total, 33 people in 15 states got sick, and four were hospitalized. One person died.

The story was first reported by Politico. It says that while the FDA did investigate the outbreak and figured out the falafel was the source, they chose not to tell the public. All die quietly remove the product from the shelves, but there was no official recall or public warning.  FOX 5 Facebook post linking to the news story

“A deadly E. Coli outbreak hit 15 states but was never announced to the public by the FDA. Here’s what happened.”

Social media users are upset

Once the news broke, people on social media were shocked. Many asking why something so serious was kept quiet period E coli can cause serious health problems, especially for kids, older adults, and people with weak immune systems.

Tweet from at Consumer Reports: “It’s time the @US_FDA target the foods that put our families’ health at the greatest risk! Sign the @CRAdvocacy petition to the FDA Commissioner to act now – no one should worry about getting seriously ill or dying from food in the U.S.” 

Instagram post from @foodsafetynews: “The new outbreak of E. Coli O145:H28 infections has sickened at least seven people.”

Food safety groups and shoppers alike say it’s not OK for the FDA to hide information about food related sicknesses. Some wonder if the agency was trying to avoid bad press or panic.

What we know and what’s next

To make sure the facts were correct, this article used details from fox 5 Nana and the original political report. Both sources confirmed the outbreak happened and was linked to earth grown falafel.

Right now, the FDA has not explained why it didn’t tell the public when people first got sick. Some experts say the agency needs to update how it shares food safety risk so that people can protect themselves and their families.

This situation has a lot of people wondering: if this outbreak wasn’t shared, what else might we not know?

#Atlanna #FDA #