Food recalls across the United States last year continued to rise after a drop during the pandemic, and nearly half were due to undeclared allergens, according to a report released Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates meat, poultry and eggs, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which regulates all other foods, recorded a total of 313 food recalls and public health alerts in 2023, according to the report published by the US Public Interest Research Group.
Public health alerts are issued for products with potential health risks but that cannot be removed from the market. For example, the product may no longer be available for purchase or the source of the foodborne illness may not yet have been identified.
California retailers sold 139, or 44%, of the recalled products last year, second only to New York retailers that sold 146 recalled products, said Teresa Murray of the group
consumer surveillance office. Texas followed California with 133 recalled products.
“New York, California and Texas are densely populated states and happen to be more culturally diverse,” he said. “With so many ethnic grocery stores and diverse populations, it's not surprising.”
Although the FDA recalled about the same number of products each year since the pandemic, the USDA issued 31% more recalls in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the report. Part of that increase comes from the increase in products containing undeclared allergens, which has been the leading cause of food recalls in recent years, Murray said.
A federal law passed in 2021 introduced sesame as the ninth required allergen on food labels in early 2023, the first time an allergen was added to the list in nearly 20 years. Other allergens on the list include milk, eggs, fish, and peanuts.
The addition of sesame coincided with a 27% increase in products with undeclared allergens in 2023. But Murray said manufacturers had enough time to prepare for the change. He blamed some recalls and health alerts on a lack of care and attention on the part of manufacturers, emphasizing the importance of disclosing the presence of allergens in products to the American public, 6% of whom have food allergies.
“Allergens are serious. They can kill people,” she said. “Allergens are different from a simple food intolerance that can cause an upset stomach.”
Snacks such as cookies, granola bars, candy and popcorn were the most frequently recalled foods in 2023, most of which had undeclared allergens. Cantaloupe found with possible Salmonella contamination and other fruits with possible Listeria contamination were the next most frequently recalled foods.
In February, Modesto-based Rizo Lopez Foods Inc. was found to be the source of a listeria food poisoning outbreak dating back to 2014 that killed two people and sickened more than two dozen. The cheese and dairy company recalled all of its packaged products, including several types of cotija cheese, yogurt and sour cream.
Last year's food recall numbers are part of a natural upward trend returning to pre-pandemic levels, Murray said. The drop in recalls in 2021 can be attributed to a multitude of reasons, including closures of meat processors and restaurants, as well as a decrease in food inspections, creating fewer opportunities for recalls.
“Without someone realizing there's a problem, it never gets to the point of saying we have a product we should take off the market,” Murray said.
Reducing food recalls is as simple as reading the fine print, he added.
“They just need to care more,” Murray said.
