Trader Joe’s is dealing with a recall: Earlier this month, the California grocery chain recalled more than 61,000 pounds of steamed chicken soup dumplings because they may contain plastic from a permanent marker. In February, it recalled several salad and dressing kits containing cotija cheese from the market due to listeria.
It’s not just Trader Joe’s issuing an influx of recalls. Warnings for consumer products, including food, have reached the highest number in years. In 2023, 199.7 million units of food and beverage products were affected by 506 recall events, according to Sedgwick Brand Protection’s 2024 State of the Nation Recall Index report, a five-year record. Recalls in 2023 increased 19.6% compared to the 423 recalls in 2022 and even eclipsed the 498 recalls in 2019. This year appears to continue the trend of 2023: in January there were 46 food and drink recalls, with a 31% increase compared to the monthly average of 35 recalls per month in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“It’s clear that rigorous regulatory enforcement is more than a passing trend,” Chris Harvey, Sedgwick’s senior vice president of brand protection, said in a press release. “2024 will see continued oversight from regulators, policymakers and consumers, making it essential for companies to plan for and implement product recalls and market crises.”
From lead-coated cinnamon to rubber potentially present in 35,430 pounds of Johnsonville turkey kielbasa sausage, the contaminated products pose a threat to both consumers and businesses. The CDC reported that February’s listeria outbreak, which affected Trader Joes, Costco and Walmart, sickened at least 26 people and resulted in two deaths. According to the CDC, listeriosis kills about 260 people each year and about 1,600 become ill with it. Each year, approximately 48 million people in the United States contract a foodborne illness.
While Trader Joe’s did not respond Fortunerequest for comment or to provide information on how the recalls have affected profits, other industries have experienced the impact of recalls on profits. In 2021, following a recall of 125,000 treadmills for safety reasons, Peloton Chief Financial Officer Jill Woodworth said the revenue impact of the recall would be $165 million. Toyota Motor shares fell 4% after announcing a recall of 1.1 million vehicles and investigating other safety issues in December.
More recalls, more dangers? Not always
While seeing more recalls may be disconcerting to consumers, it is not necessarily an indication that things are going wrong in food production.
Keith Belk, head of the Center for Meat Safety and Quality at Colorado State University, told ABC in September that improved technology, such as X-rays and metal detectors, have made it easier to detect foreign materials in foods.
These technological improvements were bolstered by the enactment of the Food Safety Modernization Act by the U.S. Congress in 2011, which expanded food safety laws and increased the FDA’s power to order recalls. Significant changes have been made throughout the production chain. Since FSMA approval, the Mexican horticultural sector, the largest supplier of U.S. horticultural imports, has invested in new sampling techniques and infrastructure, as well as ensuring the use of clean water at all stages of production, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture August 2023 report. These changes have not slowed Mexico’s export growth.
However, there are recall cases that go unnoticed. The main reason for recalls over the past six years is unlabeled allergens, which accounted for 42 recalls in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Sedgwick report. A 25-year-old dancer in New York died in January after eating a mislabeled cookie that contained peanuts. Federal law requires that nine major allergens, including peanuts and soy, be listed on food packages where applicable.
While the FDA’s goal is to mitigate foodborne illnesses, it cannot reduce contaminants, and therefore recalls, to zero. The FDA has established action levels, or a threshold that takes into account natural or unavoidable defects, for the explicit reason that it cannot eliminate every threat to the consumption of certain foods.
“The fact is, there will never be a day when there is no risk associated with consuming a food product,” Belk said.