Potentially contaminated processing equipment and problems with packing and storage of whole cantaloupes at a Colorado farm likely led to the deadliest listeria outbreak in the United States in 25 years, which has so far claimed 25 lives in a dozen states, federal health regulators said Wednesday.

Pools of water on the floor of the Jensen Farms packing facility in Granada, Colo., equipment that was not easily cleaned and sanitized and failure to cool newly harvested cantaloupes before sending them to cold storage all contributed to the outbreak, the first-ever listeria contamination blamed on whole melons, federal Food and Drug Administration officials said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials said Wednesday more illnesses and possibly more deaths may be linked to an outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe in coming weeks.

So far, the outbreak has caused at least 72 illnesses — including up to 16 deaths — in 18 states, making it the deadliest food outbreak in the United States in more than a decade.

The heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said consumers who have cantaloupes produced by Jensen Farms in Colorado should throw them out. If they are not sure where the fruit is from, they shouldn’t eat it.

WASHINGTON, March 11 (UPI) — The U.S. government announced it is taking over three Tylenol plants following recalls and a criminal investigation into safety issues at the factories.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Justice Department took action against Tylenol maker McNeil PPC and two of its executives — its vice president of quality and its vice president of operations for over-the-counter products — for failing to comply with federally mandated manufacturing practices, CNN reported Friday.

Washington (CNN) — The manufacturers of seven caffeinated alcoholic beverages labeled a “public health concern” have stopped producing or shipping the products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday.

Last week, the FDA sent warning letters to four beverage makers saying the addition of caffeine to alcoholic beverages was not approved by the agency and it was an “unsafe food additive.”

(CNN) — After the recall of more than 500 million eggs from a salmonella outbreak this summer, food safety advocates and survivors of foodborne illness will call for the U.S. Senate to pass a bill that has been in limbo since last year.

The groups will release a report Wednesday afternoon detailing the food recalls that have occurred since the U.S. House of Representatives passed Food and Drug Administration reform legislation in July 2009.

Since then, the bill has been awaiting action in the Senate.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The maker of several over-the-counter drugs, including Tylenol, Motrin and Benadryl, announced a broad-based recall of these and other drugs Friday after receiving complaints of an “unusual moldy, musty or mildew-like” odor.

The recall drew the FDA’s wrath on Johnson and Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) for not reacting quickly to customer complaints and its failure to fix the problem. The company has struggled to resolve the issue since it was first reported in 2008.

(CBS/AP) A Central California company is recalling about 1 million pounds of pistachios over concerns of possible salmonella contamination.

Food safety officials are looking through Setton Farms’ plant in rural Tulare County to see if it could lead them to the source of the contamination.

The recalls began last Friday when the Georgia Nut Company recalled its Kraft Back to Nature Nantucket Blend trail mix after some samples tested positive for salmonella. Setton Farms has started a separate recall of roasted pistachios, and grocery operator Kroger also has recalled some pistachio products.

No illnesses have been reported.

(CBS/AP) In the wake of a deadly salmonella outbreak, the government may designate peanut butter as a high-risk food, according to a top health official.

Dr. Stephen Sundlof, the head of the FDA’s food safety center, told lawmakers that peanut butter may be singled out for special attention as agency inspectors will start routinely collecting samples of peanut butter and other foods for bacterial testing whenever they go into a facility. Currently that’s done only if officials suspect a problem.

WASHINGTON – They say nothing is more wholesome than peanut butter, but the government may soon ask companies that make the gooey treat to prove it.

The salmonella outbreak is starting to change the way the government oversees the safety of peanut butter and other foods, health officials tell Congress.

Dr. Stephen Sundlof of the Food and Drug Administration told lawmakers Wednesday that agency inspectors will start to routinely collect samples for bacterial testing whenever they go into a facility. Currently that’s done only if officials suspect a problem.

WASHINGTON – A century ago, at the dawn of food safety laws, inspection amounted to little more than opening a bin of flour and looking for something wiggly.

It’s a different story now.

Solving the case of the poison processed peanuts took marathon work by federal scientists, clues in Canada, Oregon, Ohio and Connecticut, and a breakthrough in Minnesota at the hands of public health hotshots known as Team Diarrhea.