Clostridium botulinum in FDA food recalls

350 of the 29,386 FDA food recall records published since 2012 name a botulism risk. That is 1.2% of every food recall the agency has reported, and 113 of them are Class I. Data last updated 2 September 2026.

Records of 29,386

350

Share of all recalls

1.2%

Class I of 350

113

Reported between

2012 to 2026

What is different about these records

The hazard that separates Clostridium botulinum from the national picture is chemical contamination: 15.7% of these records name it, against 2.1% of all FDA food recalls.

By product, Clostridium botulinum is weighted toward fish and seafood: 46.6% of the records here against 8.2% across the corpus.

Recalls involving clostridium botulinum skew less severe than the corpus: 32.3% are Class I against 44% nationally.

A recall involving clostridium botulinum stays open a median of 337 days between the report and termination, against 215 days for the corpus as a whole. Termination follows the firm accounting for every unit of the affected lot.

These recalls travel further than most: 44.9% state nationwide distribution, against 20.7% of all records.

The volume is falling: 27 records in the three years to 2025, against 112 in the four before them. 2026 is excluded because the agency reports an enforcement action months after a firm begins a recall, so the most recent year is always incomplete.

Who got ill

Between 2012 and 2023 the CDC recorded 35 foodborne outbreaks attributed to Clostridium botulinum. That is 0.4% of the 9,038 foodborne outbreaks in the dataset, and 4.5% of the 264 deaths in it.

Of the 127 people reported ill, 96.9% were hospitalised and 9.4% died, against 7.6% and 0.2% across every foodborne outbreak CDC holds. How much of the recall corpus a hazard accounts for and how much of the harm it accounts for are two different numbers.

CDC recorded the setting for these outbreaks as a private home in 24 of the 27 where a setting was named. An outbreak is recorded against where it was eaten as well as what was eaten, which is an axis an enforcement report has no field for.

What Clostridium botulinum means in a recall record

Clostridium 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.

The firm with the most records of this kind is Lyons Magnus, Inc, with 77. A high count usually reflects one event split across many product codes rather than many separate failures, which is why the table below is ordered by date rather than by firm.

The clause this maps to

A preventive controls plan covers a botulism risk under the clauses below. This is where the control belongs, not a finding against any firm named on this page: a recall record states a reason, and most of these recalls were initiated by the firm itself.

21 CFR 113

Thermally processed low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers: the scheduled process, its establishment by a competent authority, and the records proving every container received it.

21 CFR 108.35

Emergency permit control: the registration and process filing a low-acid canned food processor must hold before it may operate.

By year

Counts are by the date the FDA reported the enforcement action. That date runs behind the date a firm started a recall, so the most recent year is always partial.

Firms with the most records

A firm appears here because it reported recalls, which is what a working recall procedure produces. A high count frequently reflects a single event split across many product codes rather than many separate failures.

• Lyons Magnus, Inc77
• Sockeye Suzys Fish LLC20
• Piantedosi Baking Co., Inc.18
• Northwest Wild Products16
• Skipanon Brand Seafoods LLC15
• Diva Fam Inc14
• LIQUID BLENZ CORP13
• Jensens Old Fashioned Smokehouse Inc12
• Big Blue Fisheries11
• Chicken of the Sea; Thai Union10
• The Garibaldi Cannery, LLC10
• Supreme Distributors, Inc.10

Where the recalling firms are

The state is the location of the recalling firm, not where the product was sold. Distribution is recorded separately on each record.

• California126
• Oregon58
• Washington56
• New York34
• Massachusetts18
• Alaska14
• Nevada10
• Wisconsin7
• Pennsylvania5
• Connecticut4
• New Jersey4
• Minnesota3

Most recently reported

Questions

How many FDA food recalls involve clostridium botulinum?

350 of the 29,386 FDA food recall records published since 2012 name a botulism risk, which is 1.2% of all of them. 113 are Class I, the class the FDA uses when there is a reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death.

What is Clostridium botulinum?

Clostridium 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.

Which clause covers a botulism risk?

A preventive controls plan under 21 CFR 117 covers a botulism risk under 21 CFR 113, 21 CFR 108.35. Thermally processed low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers: the scheduled process, its establishment by a competent authority, and the records proving every container received it. This is where the control belongs; a recall record states a reason rather than a regulatory finding, and most FDA food recalls are initiated by the firm itself.

All FDA food recall data