Every FDA food recall, by what went wrong

The FDA has published 29,386 food recall enforcement reports since 2012. This page classifies every one of them by hazard and maps each hazard to the clause a preventive controls plan covers it under. Data last updated 2 September 2026.

Recall records

29,386

Class I of 29,386

12,916

Years covered

2012 to 2026

Recalling firms

5,297

Recalls by hazard

A single recall can carry more than one hazard, so these counts overlap and do not sum to 29,386. About one record in six names a reason too specific to fall into any of these classes and appears only on its year, state and firm pages.

• Undeclared allergens7,778An undeclared allergen recall means a food contained one of the major allergens and the label did not say so, either because the wrong label was applied or because an ingredient carried an allergen nobody traced.
• Listeria monocytogenes7,493Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium that grows at refrigeration temperature, which is why it dominates recalls of ready-to-eat foods that are never cooked again before they are eaten.
• Salmonella3,642Salmonella is a bacterium that survives in low-moisture foods for months, which is why it appears in recalls of products that carry no water for it to grow in: nut butters, spices, flour and dry pet food.
• Foreign material2,432A foreign material recall means something that is not food was found in food: metal, plastic, glass, wood or insect matter, usually shed by equipment during processing.
• Spoilage and mould782A spoilage recall means the food degraded before its date: mould growth, unintended fermentation, swelling or rancidity, usually traced to a seal, a formulation or a storage temperature.
• Chemical contamination607A chemical contamination recall covers a substance that is harmful in food and was never meant to be there: a heavy metal, a cleaning chemical, a pesticide residue, or a natural toxin such as aflatoxin or histamine.
• E. coli551Shiga toxin-producing E.
• Unapproved ingredients536An unapproved ingredient recall means a product contained a substance not permitted in food, most often an undisclosed pharmaceutical active found in a dietary supplement.
• Clostridium botulinum350Clostridium botulinum recalls are recalls of the process, not of a test result: the organism produces its toxin without oxygen, so a low-acid food in a sealed container that missed its scheduled process is recalled whether or not toxin was ever found.
• Process deviation306A process deviation recall means the process ran outside its validated limits: a thermal process that did not reach its time and temperature, a pH that drifted, or a seal that failed.
• Viral and parasitic contamination303Hepatitis A, norovirus and Cyclospora recalls trace back to a person or to water rather than to the process: an infected food handler, or produce irrigated or washed with contaminated water.

Undeclared allergen recalls

The nine major food allergens have to be named on a label in the United States. Sesame became the ninth on 1 January 2023 under the FASTER Act. Sulfites are listed here because they appear in the records, but they are not a major food allergen: they are declared under a separate rule at 10 parts per million.

• Milk2,840
• Soy1,478
• Wheat1,396
• Peanuts1,076
• Tree nuts1,048
• Eggs776
• Sulfites261
• Fish219
• Crustacean shellfish182
• Sesame169

Recalls by kind of food

Classified from the product description on each record, which is not an FDA field: the agency publishes free text and nothing that says what the food was. About one record in five names no food this can classify, and a record can carry more than one category, so these counts overlap.

• Fresh produce6,919
• Milk and dairy4,965
• Snacks and confectionery4,332
• Bakery3,805
• Nuts and seeds3,144
• Sauces, dips and condiments2,884
• Spices and seasonings2,835
• Fish and seafood2,417
• Cheese2,412
• Prepared meals and sandwiches2,119
• Grains, flour and pasta1,979
• Dietary supplements1,831
• Ice cream and frozen desserts1,740
• Meat and poultry1,624
• Beverages and juice1,544
• Eggs903
• Infant formula and baby food95
• Pet and animal food54

Recalls by year

Counts are by the date the FDA reported the enforcement action, which is the field openFDA publishes as report_date. It runs behind the date a firm started a recall, sometimes by months, so the most recent year is always partial.

Recalls by state

The state is where the recalling firm is located, not where the product was sold. A recall from a single California facility frequently has a national distribution pattern.

• California4,017
• Texas1,954
• Illinois1,887
• New York1,780
• Wisconsin1,421
• Washington1,412
• Florida1,399
• Michigan1,383
• Ohio1,219
• Oregon1,067
• New Jersey1,034
• Pennsylvania956
• Massachusetts938
• Minnesota862
• Maryland792
• Georgia684
• North Carolina607
• Iowa417
• New Mexico368
• Idaho355
• Missouri354
• Indiana350
• Colorado290
• Arizona277

Every state and territory

Most recently reported

All 2026 recalls

Questions

How many food recalls does the FDA publish?

The openFDA food enforcement database holds 29,386 recall records covering 2012 to 2026. It was last updated on 2 September 2026. It covers food and dietary supplements regulated by the FDA; meat, poultry and processed egg products are regulated by USDA FSIS and are recalled through a separate system.

What do FDA recall classes mean?

Class I means a reasonable probability that the product will cause serious health consequences or death. Class II means a remote probability of serious harm, or a probability of temporary or medically reversible harm. Class III means the product is unlikely to cause harm but violates FDA labelling or manufacturing regulations.

What causes the most FDA food recalls?

Undeclared allergens appears in 7,778 of 29,386 records and listeria monocytogenes in 7,493. Between them they account for roughly half of all FDA food recalls since 2012.

Does a recall mean the firm broke a regulation?

No. Most FDA food recalls are initiated voluntarily by the firm, and a recall record states the reason for the recall rather than a regulatory finding. A recall is the firm removing product from the market, which is frequently what a working food safety plan is supposed to produce.