Food Recalls Rise as Urgent Warnings Issued Nationwide

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already issued more than 50 food-related recalls in 2024, fueling concerns from Americans that they are on the rise.

The slew comes after the FDA recalled 234 food-related items in 2023. The alerts warn of potentially severe consequences to consumers due to the presence of undeclared allergens or potential bacteria contamination such as listeria. The impacted products this year range wildly from pet food to dried fruit and salad kits, among dozens of other items.

Research published by life sciences software company MasterControl in December found that food recalls issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the FDA have jumped by 115 percent since 2018. There were 280 recalls issued between both agencies in 2018, and the number more than doubled to 603 recalls issued in 2022.

In its research, MasterControl revealed another concerning statistic:

"Child safety is the leading cause of recalls for the CPSC, with more than one in five recalls involving child and baby products — more than any other category," the research said.

Most recalled items by the FDA are food and beverages, making up 64 percent, followed by drugs at 22 percent, animal and veterinary products at 6 percent, medical devices at 4 percent, dietary supplements at 2 percent and cosmetics at 1 percent, with allergens being the most common reason behind FDA recalls.

Newsweek reached out to the FDA via email for comment.

MasterControl identifies several factors as driving the increase in recalls. The Food Safety Modernization Act that became law in 2011 brought "the most significant reform to food safety laws in over 70 years" and allowed the FDA to enact stricter regulations over time, according to the research. Stricter regulations also were enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic due to testing and inspection work occurring offsite.

The most recent FDA food recalls include dried mango from Golden Owl, raw cheddar cheese from Raw Farm LLC, and Baby's Vitamin D3 Liquid from Nordic Naturals, citing undeclared ingredients, E. coli contamination, and elevated levels of vitamin d3 levels, respectively, as the reason behind the recalls.

Since the start of the year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued seven recalls, all of which are currently active. According to the USDA's website, data for the last four years shows that USDA recalls also are on the rise as well. In 2023, there were 65 issued by the department, compared with 45 recalls in 2022, 47 in 2021 and 31 in 2020.

However, when compared with years prior to that, the number of recalls is lower. There were 124 issued in 2019, 125 in 2018, and 131 in 2017. The highest number of recalls since 2010 occurred in 2015 at 150.

"The number of recalls is likely to fluctuate over any given period of time, due to the number of variables that affect whether a recall is necessary to remove adulterated or misbranded product from commerce," a USDA spokesperson told Newsweek in an email.

"Over the last few years, FSIS [Food Safety and Inspection Service] has pushed for more accountability from industry to produce safe and wholesome products. Through numerous calls, meetings, roundtables and guidance documents, we are proactively engaging with industry on ways to reduce products that must be recalled and we are seeing the results of these efforts."

Update 02/22/2024, 11:35 a.m. Eastern time: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 02/23/2024, 7:23 a.m. Eastern time: This article was updated with comment from the USDA.