What to know: The Food and Drug Administration is investigating two new Salmonella outbreaks of unknown origin.

Both of the outbreaks are from Salmonella Enteritidis. One has sickened 50 people while 22 patients have been identified in the other. The FDA has initiated traceback for both of the outbreaks, but the agency has not reported what foods are being traced.

Scientists have reported a substantial increase in non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections in England in recent years.

A study assessed how trends have been affected by factors such as increased use of PCR at hospital laboratory level. Audits in 2022 and 2023 identified 40 of about 100 labs reporting the PCR results for STEC.

A study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology has identified Bacillus velezensis, a bacterial agent commonly used in agriculture, as the cause of a foodborne outbreak because of rope spoilage in cakes, marking the first documented case of illness linked to this biocontrol strain.

The outbreak occurred on May 12, 2024, during a business celebration at 11 sites in Greene County, OH, involving cakes from a small retail bakery.

Countries have revealed their national focus areas, ranging from allergens to supplements and additives, as part of a Europe-wide food safety initiative.

For the Safe2EatEU campaign, organized by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Spain highlighted allergens, Croatia looked at supplements, and Italy drew attention to foodborne illness from products of non-animal origin.