What to know: The patient count in an outbreak of infections from Listeria monocytogenes is increasing as the Food and Drug Administration continues to look for a cause.

As of March 27, the outbreak had sickened 30 people, up from 28 a week ago. The FDA has not reported the age range of the patients or where they live. There are likely at least 60 patients in the outbreak because of the number of patients who go undetected.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a major restructuring today, consolidating multiple agencies into a new Administration for Healthy America (AHA) and reducing its workforce by 10,000 positions. The department said the plan aims to streamline operations and improve efficiency. 

While this restructuring is intended to enhance effectiveness, it could have significant implications for agencies responsible for food safety, potentially impacting their staffing and capacity to monitor and regulate foodborne health risks.

The European Commission has answered several questions around new rules on the use of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) in foodborne outbreak investigations.

In a frequently asked questions document, the EU Commission has explained how member states should implement the new regulation.

The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.