Home Lifestyle Are food recalls really on the rise? Food experts give their opinions

Are food recalls really on the rise? Food experts give their opinions

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2024 felt like the year of food memories. In so many states, and of course all over social media, popular foods and brands are being recalled due to contamination that can cause illness and, in rare cases, death. Deli meats from Boar’s Head, shredded onions from McDonald’s and Taylor Farms, organic carrots from Grimway Farms (influencing over 40 brands!), cucumbers, onions, lettuce and spinach all from several domestic produce processors. , check your grocery receipts, clean out your refrigerator, and (if possible) throw out potentially contaminated items. Sure, it felt like a waste, but food poisoning is a very real thing, and in the face of mass food recalls, being extra careful is highly recommended.

Sure, most weeks in 2024 felt like we were learning about new recalled products, but was 2024 really the year of food recalls? Or was it really the year of food recalls? Is it just a time when people are becoming more aware of the potential dangers of products? Here’s what the experts (and data) say:

Dr. Susan Harlander, food microbiologist and molecular biologist with over 40 years of experience in the food industry

Are there more food recalls than usual?

​“The food safety landscape in 2024 is plagued by foodborne illness outbreaks, with major implications for the food industry, public health and individual consumers,” says food microbiologist Dr. Susan Harlander. Final statistics for 2024 are not yet known, but historical data from the Interagency Food Safety Analysis Collaborative (IFSAC), which includes the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of State, is helpful. Agriculture (USDA) indicates that an estimated 9 million people in the United States contract foodborne illness each year. Of those millions, 56,000 people have been hospitalized and 1,300 have died from food poisoning caused by salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, many of which have been detected in recalled foods this year. It is something that

“When commonly used foods are implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks, there is increased coverage in local and national news media and social media, especially when the foods are widely distributed in many states. ” says Harlander.

So while food recalls seem to dominate the news cycle, they’re mostly a self-fulfilling prophecy of attention bias and social media algorithms.

Still, even without the complete 2024 data set from IFSAC, we do know that food recalls from the FDA are currently on the rise. According to FDA data, there were 1,563 food and cosmetics recalls in 2023, and 1,908 food and cosmetics recalls have already occurred in 2024, an increase of 22% from the previous year. Masu. However, this is not necessarily a consistent trend, with 2022 having more food and cosmetics recalls than 2023, but far fewer recalls than 2021 or 2020.

When new IFSAC statistics are released in 2025, Americans will be able to look back more comprehensively and see whether foodborne illness was more prevalent in 2024 than in previous years, but so far, overall The number of recalls appears to be in line with past years.

What to do if you remember food

Food that is recalled by a company, farm, or distributor may not actually be contaminated, but it may be and consumers are warned to throw away the recalled product. , is encouraged.

“If you have food in your home that has been linked to foodborne illness outbreaks, even if the food looks or smells fine, it may still be contaminated. Do not eat or serve the food to your family or pets. Don’t do it,” Halander says. “Check the brand name, lot number, and best-before or use-by date to confirm that the food is subject to a recall. To prevent cross-contamination, dispose of the food in a sealed plastic bag. and wash your hands thoroughly after handling food. Clean all surfaces, utensils, and containers that came in contact with food.

If you’re not sure if a particular ingredient has been recalled, check the FDA’s Food Safety Alerts and Recalls page for the latest information. You can also sign up to receive alerts when recalls occur.

And if you may have eaten recalled food before it was discarded, there’s no need to panic. “Monitor yourself and your family for symptoms of food poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and abdominal pain, and seek medical advice if severe symptoms develop, especially in young children, the elderly, pregnant women, or people who are debilitated. Get checked for your immune system,” Harlander said. “If you believe the food caused your illness, please report it to your local health department.”

How to protect yourself from food recalls

Proper food safety at home can help protect you and your loved ones from food poisoning.

“Practice safe food handling by washing your hands frequently and cleaning surfaces and utensils after each use,” says Harlander. “To avoid cross-contamination, always separate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from ready-to-eat foods, cook foods to a safe internal temperature, and reheat leftovers to 165°F. .”

These habits won’t completely prevent food-borne insect infections, but they will certainly help. “By staying informed and maintaining safe food habits, consumers can significantly reduce their risk of foodborne illness,” Harlander added.

In addition to the tips above, you should keep your refrigerator and freezer at the right temperature and know which questionable foods to avoid in the supermarket. These tips can also help protect you from food recalls.

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