Frozen strawberries are “very likely” the cause of food poisoning that sickened more than 11,000 students in almost 500 schools and day care centers, mostly in eastern areas of Germany, during the last week. The Robert Koch Institute, which investigates infectious diseases and outbreaks for the German Health Ministry, reported on a “strong and statistically significant link” between the illnesses and consumption of food products made with a shipment of frozen strawberries. The shipment came from a subcontractor to Sodexo, the private company providing food and beverage services to the schools and day care centers. Sodexo is promising to compensate victims and in the future it would select suppliers “even more rigorously.” For more than 11,000 sickened students, including at least 32 who required hospitalization, contaminated frozen strawberries brought on both diarrhea and vomiting. In addition to the Robert Koch Institute, a government task force has been set up to continue the investigation into what is now Germany’s largest incident of food poisoning.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
Microbial contamination was the leading cause of Finnish recalls in 2025.
There were 299 recalls in Finland this past year, down slightly from 305 in 2024.
There was a decline in Campylobacter cases in England in 2025 while Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli O157 hardly changed compared to the year before.
Figures recently released by the
More than 6,200 consumer complaints about food safety were submitted to a dedicated service in Belgium in 2025.
The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC)
Gear Isle is voluntarily recalling chocolate products because they have been found to contain undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients, sildenafil and tadalafil.
The recalled products are: Gold Lion Aphrodisiac Chocolate Sachet,
Schreiber Foods Inc. of Green Bay, WI, is recalling 144 Cases of Honey Almond Cream Cheese Spread, because it may contain undeclared almonds. People who have an allergy or severe
Falcon Trading Company Inc. is recalling organic black bean products because they contain pesticide residue.
The Royal Oaks, CA, company is recalling the three items listed below. Because these items
