Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Recently?
- The U.S. has seen a lot of recalls due to food safety issues over the past few months.
- Food safety experts say there are several potential reasons for the recalls.
- There are several ways to stay on top of recall news when it happens.
Food safety issues have been around for decades. But why have there been so many recalls lately?
Last year, a nationwide eye drop recall lasted months. This summer, a deadly listeria outbreak prompted a nationwide recall of Boar’s Head deli meat. McDonald’s briefly stopped making its famous Quarter Pounders after an E.coli outbreak that was later linked to slivered onions on the burgers, and organic baby and regular-sized carrots had their own recall due to E.coli contamination. Meanwhile, an egg recall over salmonella concerns had people checking their fridges. The latest recall involves several brands of cucumbers due to the presence of salmonella.
Meet the experts: Darin Detwiler, LP. D., author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions and a professor at Northeastern University; Ellen Shumaker, Ph.D., a food safety expert and director of outreach for the Safe Plates program at North Carolina State University; Wade Syers, D.Soc.Sci., a statewide Michigan State University Extension food safety specialist.
With all of this, it’s fair to wonder why there have been so many recalls lately. Has this always been the status quo and people are now paying closer attention? Or are there more policies in place to alert people to unsafe food? Or, perhaps most pressing: Is our food supply less safe than it was in the past? Food safety experts break it down.
What is involved in a food recall?
On a basic level, a food recall means that certain foods or food products have been deemed unsafe based on regulations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA regulates all foods in the U.S., with the exception of meat, poultry, and processed egg products (those are overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)).
Foods may be recalled due to a slew of things, including contamination with disease-causing microorganisms, like bacteria, viruses, or parasites; the presence of foreign objects like broken glass or fragments of metal or plastic; or failure to list a major allergen in the food, like peanuts or shellfish, on the product label, per the FDA.
While food recalls are usually voluntarily initiated by the food manufacturer or distributor, the FDA has the power to mandate a recall.
Are some recalls more serious than others?
The FDA breaks recalls into three main categories:
- Class I: This is a situation where there is a “reasonable probability” that the use of the product or exposure to it “will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
- Class II: This designation is given when the use of a product or exposure to it “may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”
- Class III: This class of recalls is used for situations where the use of or exposure to a product “is not likely to cause adverse health consequences.”
Why have there been so many food recalls lately?
Food safety experts say there are likely a few different reasons why so many products have been recalled lately.
More ready-to-eat foods
One is that there is an “increasing consumer reliance on ready-to-eat and convenience foods,” says Darin Detwiler, LP. D., author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions and a professor at Northeastern University. Most of those products have a long shelf life, which allows bacteria like listeria more time to grow, even if original contamination is low, he says.
Sanitation problems
Sanitation may also be an issue. “Meaning that cleaning procedures are either insufficient or not consistently followed,” Detwiler says. “This could be due to inadequate training, equipment design flaws, or lack of enforcement of hygiene protocols.”
There are even temperature fluctuations when foods are transported, stored, or in retail environments, which can impact pathogen growth, Detwiler says.
Staffing issues
Inconsistent staffing, including labor shortages and high staff turnover, can also be an issue, per Detwiler. Those “can result in reduced focus on thorough sanitation and temperature control in facilities,” he says.
An interconnected food supply chain
The food supply chain is now global and interconnected, with ingredients sourced from many regions and countries. “This complexity can make it difficult to trace the origin of contamination and increases the risk of cross-contamination as products move through multiple stages of production, transport, and storage,” Detwiler says. Any breakdowns in safety along the way raise the odds of a health issue that could lead to a recall.
Advancements in testing
Finally, there are advancements in testing technologies, like whole genome sequencing, that allows for more precise identification of pathogens, Detwiler says. “This heightened sensitivity leads to more recalls, as contamination is identified earlier and more accurately,” he adds.
While many companies conduct their own safety testing, regulatory agencies like the FDA also do periodic inspections of food production facilities. “During these inspections, they may collect samples for testing,” Detwiler says. “If a regulatory agency like the FDA detects contamination during an inspection or through testing, they notify the company immediately.”
There has also been an increase in traceability, making it easier to track down products with potential contamination, says Ellen Shumaker, Ph.D., a food safety expert and director of outreach for the Safe Plates program at North Carolina State University.
But despite all of this, there aren’t more food recalls this year than in the past. “According to the data published by the FDA, there have not been more food and beverage recalls compared to last year,” says Wade Syers, D.Soc.Sci., a statewide Michigan State University Extension food safety specialist. However, these recalls may simply be covered more in the media lately, and consumers may be more interested in them, he says.
How to learn about food safety recalls
While big recalls tend to make the news, there are more that happen that many people aren’t aware of.
The FDA has a special section on its website that breaks down the latest recalls. It also allows users to search by product type.
If you want the FDA to reach out to you, the agency has a recall subscription service that will notify you when there is a new recall or a specific type of recall. You can choose whether to receive this on a daily or weekly basis. If you want an even more comprehensive look at food recalls, FoodSafety.gov has a Food Recalls Widget that breaks down recalls from the FDA and USDA.
Despite all of the advancements in food safety, Detwiler says that the series of recalls that have happened lately “show we still have work to do.”
But all of these recalls aren’t necessarily a sign that our food is unsafe, Shumaker says. “Food recalls [tend to] occur because of oversight in the system and are a sign that the system is working,” she says.
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