Food and beverage recalls have consistently made headlines throughout 2025 and into 2026, featuring alarming incidents such as radioactive shrimp, vodka seltzer packaged in energy drink cans, and a massive recall of hundreds of food items from a Minneapolis storage unit due to contamination from rodent urine, bird feces, and salmonella. These high-profile events contribute to a pervasive feeling that recalls are ubiquitous, a sentiment confirmed by Darin Detwiler, PhD, a food safety activist, who notes, "We literally have almost a recall a day." The concern is amplified by the fact that foodborne pathogens cause 48 million illnesses and 3,000 deaths annually in the United States, numbers that have remained unchanged for the past three decades.

While recalls serve as an essential component of the food safety infrastructure, indicating that health officials are effectively identifying problems and removing contaminated products from shelves, experts like Barbara Kowalcyk, PhD, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, question whether these systems are truly working as intended. Kowalcyk and Detwiler express deep concern that rising costs, significant health department staffing cuts, and reductions in food safety programs are jeopardizing an already underfunded system, thus putting public health at risk.

Despite the perception, the sheer number of food recall events has not actually increased. The FDA and USDA combined reported 310 recall events in their 2025 databases, a figure consistent with previous years, which typically hover around 300 recalls annually, according to Teresa Murray, Consumer Watchdog Director at the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). What has changed, however, is public attention. Particularly outlandish recalls, like radioactive shrimp or vodka seltzer in Celsius cans, or those impacting vulnerable groups, such as the By Heart Infant formula recall, tend to garner more media coverage, creating the impression of a surge in incidents.

However, the number of recall events alone does not fully capture the story. Detwiler highlights that in 2024, despite a consistent number of recall events, hospitalizations more than doubled from the previous year. 2025 saw several high-profile recalls linked to significant hospitalizations and deaths, including a listeria outbreak in prepared pasta meals that sickened 27 people across 18 states, resulting in 25 hospitalizations and six deaths. Additionally, a salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers led to 69 cases and 22 hospitalizations, and the By Heart infant formula recall, caused by Clostridium botulinum, resulted in 51 infant hospitalizations by early December. This underscores Detwiler's point that the critical question is not whether recalls are increasing, but rather the severity and impact on individuals, and why food safety outcomes are not improving year after year.

Understanding how food recalls occur reveals critical vulnerabilities in the system. The USDA oversees meat, poultry, and egg products, while the FDA regulates approximately 77 percent of the nation’s food supply. Manufacturers are supposed to send product samples for approval when shipping across state lines and initiate recalls if samples show contamination, if hygiene issues are discovered, or if products sicken consumers. However, a significant loophole exists: companies are not mandated to await sample results before shipping. Consequently, by the time a recall is announced, contaminated food is often already on grocery shelves and in consumers' hands. As Detwiler explains, "By the time the consumer gets information about a recall, in most cases it’s already after someone’s been harmed," noting that a USDA sticker merely indicates a sample was sent, not that the product was confirmed pathogen-free prior to shipping.

Further weakening the food safety net are deficiencies in surveillance systems. The CDC’s active surveillance program, FoodNet, which partners with clinical laboratories to identify outbreaks and track foodborne pathogens, significantly reduced its scope. As of this summer, FoodNet scaled back surveillance from eight pathogens to just E.coli and salmonella, eliminating listeria, campylobacter, cyclospora, shigella, vibrio, and Yersinia due to funding shortfalls. Kowalcyk warns that this reduction will hinder the ability to track pathogen trends, potentially masking increases or decreases. While other pathogens can still be monitored by state health departments and through PulseNet—a passive CDC program that uses bacterial DNA fingerprints to identify outbreaks—Kowalcyk worries that state and federal health department staffing cuts combined with already low budgets will slow down reporting, risking missed outbreaks. "Our surveillance systems are really at risk," she states.

In 2025, undeclared allergens constituted the most frequent reason for FDA and USDA recalls, accounting for approximately 45 percent of all incidents. This is a critical concern for the 33 million Americans with food allergies and, as Murray points out, indicates a "sloppiness that should concern everyone." Foodborne pathogens followed, making up about 34 percent of recalls, with listeria monocytogenes (17 percent) and salmonella (11 percent) being the most common culprits. Interestingly, all salmonella recalls reported were from the FDA, with the USDA reporting none in its 2025 database. Additionally, potential foreign object contamination (including stones, plastic, glass, wood, and metal) was responsible for 8.7 percent of recalls, while potential Cesium-137 (Cs-137) contamination, a radioactive substance with cancer risk, accounted for 3.8 percent. Lead exposure caused another 3.5 percent of recalls.

Certain foods consistently pose a higher risk of contamination. Cheese, particularly shredded and raw varieties, was linked to 13 FDA recall events in the past year, with 10 involving listeria. Shredded cheese is especially vulnerable due to its large batch processing and mechanization, which can spread contamination from a single block to an entire batch, or introduce foreign objects like metal fragments. Grating cheese at home and exercising caution with raw cheeses, which use unpasteurized milk, are recommended. Ground or shredded beef and poultry also present high risks; if even one animal is contaminated, the entire batch can be affected, as seen in a 160,000-pound ground beef recall for E.coli last November. Deli meats are often susceptible to listeria, prompting the CDC to recommend heating them to 165 degrees, especially for pregnant women.

Ready-made foods, including wraps, sandwiches, and frozen meals, also carry increased risks because consumers typically don't cook them themselves, making it harder to eliminate bacteria. The increased handling during preparation at grocery stores, coupled with the growing popularity of these convenient options (a 2025 YouGov poll found 49 percent of Americans buy them monthly, 18 percent weekly), means "with greater convenience comes greater risk," according to Detwiler. Sprouts and microgreens like lettuce, broccoli, and radishes are prone to contamination from salmonella, E.coli, and listeria due to their high-humidity cultivation environments. Fresh produce, generally considered healthy, is paradoxically one of the riskiest products because it's often consumed raw. Cooking damaged produce can kill potential pathogens, and thorough rinsing with water (never soap) and scrubbing firm items can reduce bacteria, though not eliminate risk entirely.

While consumers cannot fully control the contamination of purchased food, proactive measures at home can significantly lower risks. Using a digital tip thermometer ensures meat and poultry are cooked to appropriate temperatures, killing pathogens like salmonella, E.coli, and listeria. The CDC advises against leaving perishable food at room temperature for over two hours, as bacteria can multiply exponentially. Staying informed about recalls is crucial; beyond major news reports, websites like recalls.gov provide up-to-date information. Additionally, opting for a grocery store loyalty card can be beneficial, as stores often use this information to contact customers who have purchased recalled products. These precautions are especially vital for vulnerable populations, including those with compromised immune systems, young children, individuals over 65, pregnant women, and people with severe allergies.