E. coli in FDA food recalls

551 of the 29,386 FDA food recall records published since 2012 name E. coli contamination. That is 1.9% of every food recall the agency has reported, and 357 of them are Class I. Data last updated 2 September 2026.

Records of 29,386

551

Share of all recalls

1.9%

Class I of 551

357

Reported between

2012 to 2026

What is different about these records

By product, E. coli is weighted toward cheese: 25.8% of the records here against 8.2% across the corpus.

Recalls involving e. coli are more often the serious kind: 64.8% are Class I, where the FDA judges there is a reasonable probability of serious health consequences, against 44% of all records.

A recall involving e. coli stays open a median of 366 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: 33.4% state nationwide distribution, against 20.7% of all records.

The volume is falling: 55 records in the three years to 2025, against 128 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 416 foodborne outbreaks attributed to Escherichia coli. That is 4.6% of the 9,038 foodborne outbreaks in the dataset, and 8.3% of the 264 deaths in it.

Of the 7,489 people reported ill, 20.3% were hospitalised and 2.9 in every thousand died, against 7.6% and 1.7 in every thousand 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 sit-down restaurant in 89 of the 322 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 the FDA says

What E. coli means in a recall record

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli recalls concentrate in foods eaten raw or lightly cooked, where no step in the process is hot enough or long enough to be a kill step.

The firm with the most records of this kind is Rabbit Creek Products Inc., with 114. 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 E. coli contamination 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 117.135(c)(1)

Process controls: the controls that apply a treatment, such as a validated kill step, at the point where it reduces the hazard to a safe level.

21 CFR 117 subpart G

Supply-chain programme: the approval and verification a receiving facility runs on a supplier when the hazard is controlled before the ingredient arrives.

21 CFR 120

Juice HACCP: the hazard analysis and critical control point system required for juice processors, including a treatment achieving a 5-log pathogen reduction.

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.

• Rabbit Creek Products Inc.114
• Cumberland Valley Creamery, LLC29
• Kabobs Inc27
• Produce Packaging Inc22
• ADM - CHICAGO20
• Adm Milling19
• Mary's Harvest Fresh Foods, Inc.18
• QualiTech, Inc18
• General Mills, Inc14
• Spokane Produce, Inc.12
• The SoyNut Butter Company11
• Stagno's Bakery, 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.

• Kansas114
• Illinois69
• Pennsylvania42
• California39
• Ohio36
• Minnesota36
• Georgia29
• Washington25
• Iowa18
• Oregon18
• New York14
• Texas12

Most recently reported

Questions

How many FDA food recalls involve e. coli?

551 of the 29,386 FDA food recall records published since 2012 name E. coli contamination, which is 1.9% of all of them. 357 are Class I, the class the FDA uses when there is a reasonable probability of serious health consequences or death.

What is E. coli?

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli recalls concentrate in foods eaten raw or lightly cooked, where no step in the process is hot enough or long enough to be a kill step.

Which clause covers E. coli contamination?

A preventive controls plan under 21 CFR 117 covers E. coli contamination under 21 CFR 117.135(c)(1), 21 CFR 117 subpart G, 21 CFR 120. Process controls: the controls that apply a treatment, such as a validated kill step, at the point where it reduces the hazard to a safe level. 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