{"id":2087476,"date":"2024-12-20T14:35:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T20:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=2087476"},"modified":"2024-12-20T14:35:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T20:35:59","slug":"why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?"},"content":{"rendered":"Everywhere I look, I'm being bombarded with news about recalls. Between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/cucumber-recall-december-2024\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cucumbers with salmonella<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/organic-carrot-recall-november-2024\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">carrots with E. coli<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/listeria\/outbreaks\/delimeats-7-24.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sliced deli meats with listeria<\/a>, it's starting to feel like a gamble every time I go grocery shopping.\r\n\r\nRecalls do seem to be dominating headlines lately\u2014but why? Do Facebook and news apps <em>really <\/em>want to make sure I hear about recalls, or has the number of cases actually spiked?\r\n\r\n<span class=\"MARK-THIS\">\"Food recalls occur almost every day,\" says Mitzi Baum, CEO of\u00a0<a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" href=\"https:\/\/stopfoodborneillness.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stop Foodborne Illness<\/a>, a national public health nonprofit advocating for effective food safety policies. \"Consumers are hearing more reports of food recalls because the products that have been recalled recently are commonly purchased foods (such as carrots and chicken) and product brands that are well-regarded and recognized by consumers (including Boar's Head and McDonald's).\"<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn 2023, the number of recalls in the U.S. reached its highest level since the pandemic, <a href=\"https:\/\/datadashboard.fda.gov\/ora\/cd\/recalls.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to FDA data<\/a>. 2024 already has more recall activity than 2023 (though overall, numbers were higher from 2013 through 2020).\r\n<h2>What is causing the recent outbreaks?<\/h2>\r\nE. coli, salmonella and listeria are all bacteria that can enter the food supply and make us quite ill\u2014even causing death in some cases.\u00a0Baum says there may be more testing of products for specific bacteria. When food manufacturers test more often, there's a greater likelihood of finding an issue.\r\n\r\nWhen our food safety systems fail, and illnesses and deaths are reported linked back to one product, a recall is instituted and media coverage increases significantly.\r\n\r\nThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that some wildlife, livestock and humans are carriers of pathogenic E. coli and can contaminate meats and food crops. Contamination typically happens when feces come into contact with food or water\u2014and food handlers can spread infections when they do not use proper hand-washing hygiene.\r\n\r\nSimilarly, the FDA says salmonella can be spread by food handlers who do not wash their hands and\/or the surfaces and tools they use between food preparation steps and when people eat raw or undercooked foods.\r\n\r\nListeria is a bit different. Farm animals can carry <em>Listeria monocytogenes<\/em> in their intestines without becoming sick, and it may be spread to meat and dairy products. Outbreaks of listeriosis are associated with ready-to-eat foods such as hot dogs, lunch meats, cold cuts and other deli-style meat and poultry.\r\n<h2>Should consumers be worried?<\/h2>\r\nIt's important to note that not all recalls are related to dangerous outbreaks. For instance, plenty of recalls have nothing to do with bacteria or illness\u2014like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.profoodworld.com\/food-safety\/regulatory\/article\/22926497\/costco-recalls-nearly-80000-pounds-of-butter-over-label-error\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Costco recall of 80,000 pounds of butter<\/a> due to a labeling error that failed to disclose an allergen. And not all recalls are severe. That's why the FDA and USDA use a three-level class system to categorize the threat.\r\n\r\nRecall numbers have trended up over the last few years but are still lower than pre-pandemic levels. How is that possible?\r\n\r\n\"One of the reasons could be that food manufacturers, growers and distributors test more often and use better testing methods,\" says Baum. That means more issues are being identified.\r\n\r\nIt's important to stay attentive and aware, but there's nothing out of the ordinary to panic about. Though major recalls often make the news, there is another way to stay on top of this information. The FDA lists all of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fda.gov\/safety\/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts on its website<\/a>.\r\n\r\n[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[\/cf]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I know I&#8217;m not the only one with listeria and E. coli in my newsfeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7480,"featured_media":2087567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[303719,303733,303745],"categories-v2":[308324,308365,308369],"coauthors":[256801],"acf":{"long_pin_file":false,"ncv_override_generic_settings_option":false,"ncv_autoplay_option":"","ncv_stickyplay_option":"","ncv_ads_option":"","ncv_mute_option":"","ncv_comscore_option":"","ncv_autoplay_mobile_option":"","ncv_viewable_threshold_option":"","ncv_sticky_offset_option":"","ncv_autopause_option":"","ncv_sticky_offset_mobile_option":"","ncv_autopause_mobile_option":"","ncv_sticky_mobile_option":"","ncv_remove_player_option":false,"ncv_moat_option":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.3 (Yoast SEO v23.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?<\/title>\n\n\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/\" \/>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?","description":"Does it feel like you're being bombarded with news about food recalls everywhere you look? Here's why they seem to be dominating headlines.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?","og_description":"Does it feel like you're being bombarded with news about food recalls everywhere you look? Here's why they seem to be dominating headlines.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/","og_site_name":"Taste Recipes","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tasteofhome","article_published_time":"2024-12-20T20:35:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1800,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jill Schildhouse","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","twitter_creator":"@tasteofhome","twitter_site":"@tasteofhome","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jill Schildhouse","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/"},"author":{"name":"Jill Schildhouse","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4e078374c2534b674a2850c139d551e1"},"headline":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?","datePublished":"2024-12-20T20:35:59+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-20T20:35:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/"},"wordCount":574,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","keywords":["News","Recalls","Trends"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/","name":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-20T20:35:59+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-20T20:35:59+00:00","description":"Does it feel like you're being bombarded with news about food recalls everywhere you look? Here's why they seem to be dominating headlines.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","width":1800,"height":1200,"caption":"A grocery store display of fresh vegetables, including carrots, broccoli, and leafy greens, with a bold red \"Product Recall\" sign featuring an exclamation mark superimposed over the image."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Recalls","item":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/news\/recalls\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/","name":"Taste Recipes","description":"Find Recipes, Appetizers, Desserts, Holiday Recipes &amp; Healthy Cooking Tips","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#organization","name":"Taste Recipes","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/toh-logo-red.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/toh-logo-red.png","width":166,"height":125,"caption":"Taste Recipes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tasteofhome","https:\/\/x.com\/tasteofhome","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tasteofhome\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/taste_of_home\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/tasteofhome"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4e078374c2534b674a2850c139d551e1","name":"Jill Schildhouse","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/53ca8ec25c2e34800cf968342397edc4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e42a42a763b9da2bd3b8828685b8b5dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e42a42a763b9da2bd3b8828685b8b5dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jill Schildhouse"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.rd.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/author\/j_schildhouse\/"}]}},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2025-06-25 02:44:07","action":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now\/","author_details":{"1268766":{"ID":"1268766","display_name":"Jill Schildhouse","first_name":"Jill","last_name":"Schildhouse","user_login":"jill-schildhouse","user_email":"JillSchildhouse@gmail.com","linked_account":"J_Schildhouse","website":"https:\/\/jillschildhouse.com\/","description":"<p>Jill is an award-winning writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience. She covers a range of topics like health and wellness, food science, travel and healthcare for sites like <em>Taste Recipes, Reader\u2019s Digest, Travel and Leisure, Fodor\u2019s <\/em>and<em> USA Today<\/em>. She loves tracking down the best sources possible to back up her writing, such as medical professionals, registered dietitians and scientists. An avid traveler, Jill has eaten her way through 38 countries\u2014some of her favorite experiences include making gelato in Italy, catching and eating Dungeness crab in Alaska and pub-hopping in Ireland.<\/p>","twitter":"JillSchildhouse","instagram":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/the_globalglutton\/","facebook":"","public_email":"","linkedin":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jillschildhouse\/","tiktok":"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@jillschildhouse","youtube":"","location":"Phoenix, AZ","school_and_year":"Northern Illinois University","education":"<p>Northern Illinois University, bachelor's in corporate communications<\/p>","highlights":"<ul>\r\n<li>23 years writing and editing for print and digital publications with 7 years writing about food and nutrition<\/li>\r\n<li>Writer for <em>Taste Recipes, Southern Living, EatingWell, Vegetarian Times, Better Homes &amp; Gardens <\/em>and<em> Travel + Leisure<\/em><\/li>\r\n<li>Former editor of AAA's <em>Arizona Highroads magazine<\/em><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","expertise":"Cooking techniques; product testing; cleaning &amp; organizing; home decor; health &amp; wellness; grocery shopping; travel","short_bio":"<p>As a writer for <em>Taste Recipes<\/em>, Jill regularly covers cooking techniques, nutrition and food safety. She has more than 20 years of experience as a food and lifestyle writer and her work has appeared in <em>Southern Living, Better Homes &amp; Gardens<\/em> and more. When she\u2019s not writing, she\u2019s traveling and has eaten her way through 38 countries and counting.<\/p>","user_nicename":"jill-schildhouse","type":"guest-author","nickname":""}},"images":{"2087567":{"image_url":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","post_data":{"ID":2087567,"post_author":"7956","post_date":"2024-12-06 11:53:32","post_date_gmt":"2024-12-06 17:53:32","post_content":"","post_title":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now Trend Gettyimages 1553783224 Yvedit","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"inherit","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"why-are-there-so-many-food-recalls-right-now_trend_gettyimages-1553783224_yvedit","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-12-06 11:54:02","post_modified_gmt":"2024-12-06 17:54:02","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":2087476,"guid":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg","menu_order":0,"post_type":"attachment","post_mime_type":"image\/jpeg","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},"post_meta":{"_wp_attached_file":["2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg"],"mdd_hash":["6655cc6ee43f784d7689d5ebf5316af5"],"mdd_size":["838096"],"_syndication_rights":["1"],"_wp_attachment_image_alt":["A grocery store display of fresh vegetables, including carrots, broccoli, and leafy greens, with a bold red \"Product Recall\" sign featuring an exclamation mark superimposed over the image."],"_wp_attachment_metadata":["a:6:{s:5:\"width\";i:1800;s:6:\"height\";i:1200;s:4:\"file\";s:92:\"2024\/12\/Why-Are-There-So-Many-Food-Recalls-Right-Now_Trend_GettyImages-1553783224_YVedit.jpg\";s:8:\"filesize\";i:838096;s:5:\"sizes\";a:0:{}s:10:\"image_meta\";a:12:{s:8:\"aperture\";s:1:\"0\";s:6:\"credit\";s:0:\"\";s:6:\"camera\";s:0:\"\";s:7:\"caption\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"created_timestamp\";s:1:\"0\";s:9:\"copyright\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"focal_length\";s:1:\"0\";s:3:\"iso\";s:1:\"0\";s:13:\"shutter_speed\";s:1:\"0\";s:5:\"title\";s:0:\"\";s:11:\"orientation\";s:1:\"0\";s:8:\"keywords\";a:0:{}}}"],"_one_time_use":["0"],"_image_licensor_id":[""],"_image_licensor_name":[""],"_license_type":[""],"photographer_credit_name":["TASTE OF HOME, GETTY IMAGES"],"_wp_attachment_source_url":[""],"_wp_attachment_license":[""],"_wp_attachment_license_url":[""]}}},"current_site_slug":"toh-com","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Does it feel like you're being bombarded with news about food recalls everywhere you look? Here's why they seem to be dominating headlines.","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"why are there so many food recalls right now","dek":["I know I'm not the only one with listeria and E. coli in my newsfeed."],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087476"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2087476"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2092750,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2087476\/revisions\/2092750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2087567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2087476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2087476"},{"taxonomy":"categories-v2","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories-v2?post=2087476"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2087476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}