The CDC and public health officials in several states are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses linked to home delivery meals supplied by Metabolic Meals.
Metabolic Meals, LLC (dba Healthspan Foods, LLC) is a limited liability company based in St. Louis, Missouri, and falls under the jurisdiction of the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). According to the FSIS, the company engages in meat processing and poultry processing (FSIS Establishment No. M2974+P2974).
Sixteen outbreak-related illnesses have been reported from ten states. Seven of the victims have been hospitalized. Victims range in age from zero to 96 years, with half of them being 56 years of age or older. Illnesses started on dates ranging from July 24, 2025 to August 15, 2025.
Ten of the 12 victims who were interviewed reported having consumed a Metabolic Meals prepared menu item prior to becoming ill.
Outbreak cases have been reported in Arkansas (1), California (3), Connecticut (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Minnesota (2), Missouri (3), Texas (1), Washington (1), and Wisconsin (1).
The CDC warns that outbreak illnesses may also have occurred in other states, and that the total number of outbreak victims is likely to be far higher than the number reported so far.
Metabolic Meals menu items flagged in the CDC outbreak notice include the following items, delivered to customers during the week of July 28, 2025 (note that the first illnesses to be reported began PRIOR TO this date):
Four Cheese Tortellini with Pesto Sauce and Grilled Chicken:- Lot Code 25199; Best By 08/07/2025
Low Carb Chicken Teriyaki and Vegetables:- Lot Code 25202; Best By 08/05/2025
Black Garlic & Ranch Chicken Tenders with Roasted Vegetables:- Lot Code 25205; Best By 08/08/2025
Sliced Top Sirloin with Roasted Peanut Sauce and Summer Vegetables:– Lot Code 25203; Best By 08/06/2025
Additional meal lot codes include: 25199, 25202, 25203, 25204, 25205
What consumers need to know (per CDC)
Do not eat affected Metabolic Meals products. Check your refrigerators and freezers if you ordered these meals and throw them out or contact the company.
Wash items and surfaces that may have touched the affected ready-to-eat meals using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.
Call your healthcare provider if you have any of these severe Salmonella symptoms:
Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
Bloody diarrhea
So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
Signs of dehydration, such as not peeing much, dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up
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Brown, cage-free eggs from Country Eggs, LLC (Lucerne Valley, California) have been linked to 95 confirmed cases of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses in 14 states, according to information released today (August 28, 2025) by the CDC.
Eighteen people have been hospitalized.
Outbreak cases have been reported in Arizona (1), California (73), Florida (1), Georgia (1), Hawaii (1), Iowa (1), Minnesota (4), North Carolina (2), Nebraska (1), Nevada (3), New York (2), Pennsylvania (1), and Washington (3).
Patient interviews conducted by the CDC and its local partners identified eggs and egg-containing dishes as the most likely source of the illnesses. Traceback investigations conducted by the FDA identified Country Eggs, LLC as a common supplier of the eggs.
On August 27, 2025, Country Eggs, LLC announced a recall of LARGE BROWN CAGE FREE SUNSHINE YOLKS sold under the following brand names and package formats
Nagatoshi:- Sell by dates 7/1/25 through 9/16/25; No. CA 7695
Misuho:- Sell by dates 7/1/25 through 9/16/25; No. CA 7695
Nijiya Markets:- Sell by dates 7/1/25 through 9/16/25; No. CA 7695
Country Eggs LARGE BROWN SUNSHINE YOLKS:– Packed 1/15 DZ Bulk for Foodservice; Sell by 7/1/25 – 9/16/25
The recalled eggs were distributed in California and Nevada to grocery stores and foodservice distributors.
Investigation timeline
The first outbreak case was reported in January 2025. By mid-April, more than 30 outbreak cases had been identified.
The FDA initiated a traceback investigation on April 23, 2025, but was unable to trace a likely source of the outbreak and ended the investigation.
Between mid-June and mid-July, the CDC received reports of spike in the occurrence of illnesses caused by the same outbreak strain. The reports included reports of illnesses experienced by customers of four restaurants.
With this new information, the FDA reopened its traceback investigation and determined that Country Eggs was a common supplier of the eggs consumed by outbreak victims.
Country Eggs inspection history
Country Eggs, LLC has been inspected only once by the FDA, according to information posted on the FDA Inspection Data Dashboard.
This inspection took place in November 2016 and the company’s operation was graded as “Voluntary Action Indicated.”
The inspector found two significant items that required correction:
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising the public not to feed certain lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products raw food to their pets after a four-year-old child became ill with E. coli O157:H7.
The contamination came to light after food-safety attorney, William Marler, initiated third-party testing of an previously unopened package of BioLogics All-Natural and Grain Free, Beef Recipe for Dogs found E. coli O157:H7 in the raw, frozen product. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) confirmed that the strain found in the pet food was a match for the strain recovered from the child.
In addition to the E. coli O157:H7-positive sample, the third-party lab recovered Salmonella Infantis and Salmonella Hadar from previously sealed packages of Darwin’s chicken dog food and duck dog food, respectively.
The FDA recommended that Arrow Reliance, Inc. (the manufacturer of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products) recall the product lots that tested positive for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella; however, the company has not recalled the affected products.
The products in question were manufactured in May or June 2024, were sold frozen, have no expiration date on the label, and could still be in consumers’ freezers. The FDA urges consumers who purchase Darwin’s products to check their freezers for the following three items:
Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, BioLogics All-Natural and Grain Free, Beef Recipe for Dogs:- Lot 10662, MFG Date of May 30, 2024
Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, BioLogics All-Natural and Grain Free, Chicken Recipe for Dogs:- Lot 10683, MFG date of June 05, 2024
Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, Natural Selections Duck Recipe for Dogs:- Lot 10638, MFG date of May 22, 2024
The affected lots of pet food were sold in frozen 2-pound white and clear plastic packages with four separate units. The beef and chicken BioLogics dog food have orange labeling, and the duck Natural Selections dog food has blue labeling. If you have any of these products, please throw them away in a secure container. DO NOT FEED THEM TO YOUR PETS.
Anatomy of an illness investigation
In August 2024, a four-year-old boy living in Utah became ill and was diagnosed with E. coli O157:H7.
The child was hospitalized, and developed a severe case of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), requiring dialysis. He spent a total of six weeks in hospital and is at risk of permanent injury to his kidneys.
As a matter of routine, the strain of E. coli O157:H7 that was recovered from the boy was genetically typed using WGS and, in September 2024, the genetic profile was uploaded to the CDC’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database.
Investigations carried out by the health authorities in Utah were unable to find any other related cases or to determine a possible source for the infection. It appeared to be an isolated incident.
In October 2024, the family contacted food-safety attorney, William Marler.
According to information provided to eFoodAlert by Marler, initial reviews of the files did not reveal any clues about the source of the infection. However, when Marler reviewed the files once more, he noted that the family had a dog, and asked about the dog’s health and diet. He learned that the dog exclusively ate Darwin’s pet food, and had begun vomiting one day before the child fell ill. The dog subsequently died in a car accident, so could not be tested, but the family had not discarded the remaining frozen, raw dog food.
Marler arranged for an accredited third-party laboratory to test the sealed packages of food that were still in the family’s freezer. On June 19, 2025, the lab reported that they had found E. coli O157:H7 in a sample of the Darwin’s beef dog food and that the strain was a perfect match to the strain recovered from the Utah boy.
Marler notified the FDA, the Utah health department, the Washington Department of Agriculture (Darwin’s manufacturer is located in Tukwila, WA) and Arrow Reliance, Inc. (the manufacturer) of the lab’s findings.
The FDA sent an investigator to Utah to interview the family, and also tried to locate additional samples of the affected products for testing. Unfortunately, by the time the FDA became involved, there were no retail samples available for testing, nor did the company have any samples from the specified production lots available to test.
And, as has occurred of several prior occasions, Arrow Reliance has not complied with the FDA’s request for a voluntary recall.
What consumers need to know
If you have any of the lots of Darwin’s BioLogics or Natural Selections pet food products listed above, stop feeding the product to your pets and throw it away in a secure container where other animals, including wildlife, cannot access it. Do not donate the food.
The product lot codes are printed on the front of the lower left unit of the package of food. If you no longer have the package or can’t read the lot code, throw the food away.
Consumers who have had the products listed above in their homes should clean and disinfect all pet supplies, including all storage containers, bowls, utensils, food prep surfaces, pet bedding, toys, floors, and any other surfaces that the food or pet may have had contact with, including your refrigerator or freezer. Clean up the pet’s feces in yards, parks, or other places where people or other animals may become exposed. Consumers should thoroughly wash their hands after handling the product or cleaning up potentially contaminated items and surfaces.
Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7 and your pet
Dogs and cats can become infected with STEC, although the symptoms are generally milder than symptoms in people. Dogs and cats infected with STEC can develop watery diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, urinary tract infections, and vomiting. Symptoms may be more severe in pets with weakened immune systems. The infection is rarely lethal in pets, but deaths have been reported in infected dogs. If your pet has symptoms of a STEC infection, consult a veterinarian promptly.
Pets do not need to display symptoms to be able to pass STEC on to their human companions. Whether or not a pet is symptomatic, once STEC gets established in the pet’s gastrointestinal tract, the animal can shed the bacteria when having bowel movements, contaminating their environment.
Pets do not always display symptoms when infected with Salmonella, but signs can include vomiting, diarrhea (which may be bloody), fever, loss of appetite and/or decreased activity level. If your pet has these symptoms, consult a veterinarian promptly. You should also be aware that infected pets can shed the bacteria in their feces without showing signs of being sick.
How to report a pet illness?
People who think their pets have become ill after consuming contaminated pet food should first contact their veterinarians.
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