Recall roundup

If we posted about every food recall there would probably not be space for anything else, but the two most recent ones I saw sounded worthy of attention since they covered a large swath of the US. There is another reason to talk about food recalls: the number of illnesses and deaths due to foodborne illness is on the rise.

While this is not welcome news, part of this increase may be the result of more testing and reporting. Registered dietician Toby Amidor explains that “With better testing systems, we are now able to detect [contamination] more quickly.” This means it is easier for medical providers to link illness to specific items which may result in higher reported amounts of illness. While the overall number of food recalls actually declined from 2023 to 2024, the numbers of reported illness and death rose. The listeria outbreak at Boar’s Head was the deadliest in a decade which contributed to this increase.

Back to the recalls in question: 1,700 pounds of Cabot Creamery Butter has been recalled due to elevated levels of fecal coliform bacteria. The butter was sold in seven US states. This is a Class III (marginal risk) recall, which means that eating the product is “not likely to cause adverse health consequences,” but you probably don’t want to eat it because, well, fecal coliform bacteria. The second recall is for 20,000 pounds of Johnsonville brand sausages, Cheddar Bratwurst to be specific. This recall is not for bacterial contamination, but rather that pieces of hard plastic may be found in the sausages.

If you live in the US, you can stay abreast of these issues by visiting the FDA’s recall website and the USDA’s recall website. While these websites are functioning and do not appear to have been affected by government cuts, there is concern about the overall food inspection process due to the high volume of layoffs at the agencies, with the FDA warning that it would need to reduce the number of food and drug inspections. These layoffs were followed by a proposal to replace the fired FDA employees with contractors. One former FDA official told CBS News: “You already have employees who can come back, and can come in and make it run. But you’re going to get someone to come in, train them? There’s going to be delays. You’re going to delay the whole process of safeguarding the American public.” Hiring these contractors also contradicts the reason the employees were let go in the first place, which was ostensibly because their job functions were redundant or unnecessary.

While we may believe that a safe food supply is guaranteed in the modern world, it does not happen without robust oversight. Left to their own devices, companies cut corners to squeeze out a few more pennies in profit. This is not only a food safety issue, but also a worker safety issue. Meat processing plants have lobbied to allow processing lines to move faster, which appears to be getting a green light from the USDA. The agency also said it will no longer require plant operators to submit worker safety data, calling it “redundant.”