From the nearly annual E. coli outbreaks associated with romaine lettuce (2018 to 2022 being the most significant years) to extensive meat recalls, there’s a perpetual sense that another food crisis is imminent. Here’s what you should understand about food recalls and some expert recommendations on how to respond if a recall impacts you.
What does a food recall entail?
A recall occurs when the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), or the FDA, identifies a “hazard” in a food product available to consumers and calls for the responsible company to initiate a recall. Dedicated sections on both the FSIS site and FDA site provide details about each recall, including the nature of the issue (such as a bacterial outbreak or mislabeling), product name, sales locations, and which expiration or sell-by dates are involved.
For USDA recalls, additional information includes an EST number, which is a distinctive identifier assigned to each U.S. facility that produces meat, poultry, or eggs (typically appearing as a small round stamp on packaging).
Some recalls are isolated instances affecting a single product line and can be resolved quickly, while others may extend over several months as investigations progress and new information emerges.
How do USDA and FDA recalls differ?
Due to historical legislation, food inspections in the U.S. are managed by two separate agencies. The FDA oversees most food items, excluding meat, poultry, and eggs; that responsibility lies with the USDA and FSIS. In essence, most animal-derived products and their production facilities fall under the jurisdiction of the USDA, while the FDA regulates items like fruits, packaged snacks, and even coffee creamers.
The FSIS actively searches for potential issues through regular inspection and testing. While some recalls might be voluntary when they do not pose a significant health risk, the USDA can request mandatory recalls and is authorized to shut down plants if they determine a company is non-compliant.
In contrast, most FDA recalls are typically voluntary. “The agency often relies on its relationships with companies and its ability to publicly notify consumers to ensure compliance,” notes Darin Detwiler, LP.D., a food policy expert and professor at Northeastern University.
How does a recall begin?
The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA conducts regular inspections of facilities involved in food processing, packaging, and distribution. During these inspections, officials examine products, machinery, and the environment, and send food samples along with swabs to local health department laboratories for testing.
These inspections are guided by Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), a framework familiar to many who have worked in food service. In 1996, these guidelines were incorporated into FSIS protocols to enhance clarity concerning food safety inspections. Inspectors primarily focus on three elements under HACCP: identifying hazards during production, pinpointing “critical control points” to mitigate those hazards, and ensuring documentation exists to demonstrate compliance with these safety protocols.
Furthermore, companies and facilities have the option to report issues to the USDA on their own, without the need for an inspector’s presence. The FDA has a similar system through its Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII).
Additionally, if individuals experience symptoms of a foodborne illness and seek hospital treatment, medical personnel will report these cases and monitor patterns of illness. When contamination is identified, either the USDA or FDA will issue an official statement detailing the affected products and outlining steps for consumers to take, including any necessary returns.
What made the Boar’s Head recall so significant?
At the end of July, Boar’s Head Provisions Co., Inc. initiated a recall of 200,000 pounds of deli meats due to a reported listeria outbreak. This number expanded to 2 million pounds weeks later as further inspections revealed connections between what previously appeared to be isolated incidents and the liverwurst.
“Listeria outbreaks pose a significant risk, especially due to their serious implications for at-risk populations, including pregnant individuals, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems,” explains Detwiler. “Listeria monocytogenes is especially concerning since it can proliferate at refrigeration temperatures, making it a continual hazard in ready-to-eat items like deli meats, soft cheeses, and pre-packaged salads.”
For Boar’s Head, the targeted products—ready-to-eat meats—are primarily consumed by individuals aged 65 and older, a demographic that faces a higher susceptibility to weakened immune systems. This population is also more likely to seek hospital care for symptoms due to difficulties in combatting infections. Combined with the widespread nature of the outbreak, this resulted in an impact greater than a typical recall would exhibit.
The situation eventually created a cascade of events. Once the Maryland Department of Health alerted FSIS about the presence of listeria in Boar’s Head liverwurst, leading to the swift closure of a Virginia processing plant linked to the outbreak. With both FSIS and Boar’s Head already on alert, further contamination was uncovered since listeria can endure in refrigerated settings. With various products manufactured on the same production line as the liverwurst, the potential for contamination increased. “Cross-contamination during handling or packaging can exacerbate the issue,” notes Detwiler about the recall, “especially in facilities that manufacture high-risk food items.”
As it stands, 71 Boar’s Head items remain listed on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s official recall roster, with the total volume of recalled products nearing approximately 7 million pounds. This event marks the largest listeriosis recall since 2011.
Following the outbreak, Boar’s Head has indefinitely ceased production of liverwurst due to a process unique to that Virginia facility, as indicated by a press release issued on September 13, ensuring it is unlikely for similar issues to arise in the future.
Are all recalls serious?
Not every recall carries the same level of concern. Some, like the Boar’s Head incident, resulted in numerousillnesses and even deaths—59 and 10, respectively, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak was traced back to McDonald’s, which accounted for 100 illnesses across 14 states. Meanwhile, others, like the International Delight “Home Alone” Peppermint Mocha Zero Sugar coffee creamer, were recalled due to a labeling error, with no reports of harm or illness associated with it.
It’s important to note that not every recall is alarming. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) categorizes recalls into approximately a dozen types, such as “mislabeling” (for instance, a product labeled as zero sugar when it contains sugar) and “extraneous material” (when a product has foreign objects like rock or bone fragments). The FSIS and the FDA further divide recalls into three classes. Class Three indicates “the risk is negligible,” while Class One denotes “reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death,” according to information from the USDA’s website. Additionally, a fourth category, the Public Health Alert, is utilized to notify the public about potential health risks in situations where a formal recall isn’t warranted.
For instance, the International Delight recall was classified as Class Two, denoting “a remote probability of adverse health consequences from use of the product.” Meanwhile, the Boar’s Head recall was assigned a Class One status due to its significant implications for public health. Despite being pulled from over a fifth of its locations, the McDonald’s onion recall was also ultimately classified as Class One.
A less concerning example of a recall was a ham product issue in June, wherein the front of the packaging correctly identified it as ham, but the back was mistakenly labeled as Honey Smoked Turkey Breast, according to the USDA. Although customers could correctly identify the product, it was recalled as a safety measure.
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