Food recalls in 2023 reached the highest levels the U.S. has recorded since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly driven by undisclosed allergens and listeria contamination, according to a new report released Thursday.
Blurry interior of a grocery store aisle behind large red Recall text
Some 313 food recalls (impacting products that were still on sale) and alerts (involving products no longer on sale, but may be in consumers’ homes) were announced last year by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an 8% increase from 2022 and the highest number since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, according to a report released Thursday by the nonprofit U.S. Public Research Interest Group Education Fund.
Contaminated food resulted in six deaths and over 1,100 illnesses last year, though the researchers suspect there were more illnesses since most people recover from food poisoning without medical attention.
The most commonly recalled food items in 2023 were snacks like cookies and granola bars, which accounted for one in five recalls, though other commonly recalled foods included fruit—mainly cantaloupes—beef, soup, salads and greens, poultry, cheese, vegetables, supplements and pet food, according to the report.
Almost half of all recalls (49.3%) in 2023 were related to allergens undeclared on packaging, while other major reasons for recalls were listeria contamination (15%), salmonella contamination (8.6%) and uninspected products (6.1%).
This uptick in undisclosed allergen cases was partially driven by the inclusion of sesame—which accounted for 39% of the increase—as a required disclosed allergen, a rule that began in January 2023.
48 million. That’s how many Americans the CDC estimates get sick annually due to foodborne disease, totaling one out of six Americans. Out of that number, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die.
Food gets recalled in one of four ways, according to the report. One way is consumers get sick, seek medical attention and then local officials or the CDC test fluids and trace an outbreak to a specific food item; another is consumers file a complaint with companies or regulators; a third is local, state or federal officials discover an issue through investigations or routine surveillance; and the other method is by companies self-reporting a problem after testing. The FDA regulates around 78% of the country’s food supply, and its oversight includes everything except meat, poultry and some fish and eggs products, which are regulated by the USDA. The FDA was behind 224 recalls in 2023, while the USDA accounted for 89, according to the report. Although the number of recalls via the FDA were virtually unchanged, the number of USDA recalls increased by 31% in 2023 compared with 2022—the highest levels since 2019.
Costco, Trader Joe’s, Walmart Recall Dairy Products Over Listeria Outbreak—What To Know (Forbes)
Trader Joe’s Cashews Recall: Product Pulled In 16 States Over Salmonella Concerns (Forbes)