Food recalls due to bacteria contamination reached their highest levels within five years in 2024, driven by a surge of recalls from the germs Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella.
There have been 154 recalls filed with federal food regulators due to contamination from the “big three” pathogens—E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella—as of Dec. 30, up from 87 recalls in 2023 and the highest number since 165 recalls in 2019, according to data provided to ConsumerAffairs by law firm Food Industry Counsel.
Listeria and Salmonella recalls hit their highest levels since 2019 and 2018, reaching 80 and 61 recalls, respectively.
A combination of increased pathogen detection, an inability to prevent germs in food manufacturing and regulators overreacting to food companies combatting contamination is what has boosted the number of bacteria food recalls recently, Shawn Stevens, attorney at Food Industry Counsel, told ConsumerAffairs.
“We see an explosion of types and scopes of food products being recalled,” he said. “Unless either side gives, even if only a little, we will see the number of recalls continue to increase.”
Still, the higher levels of food recalls because of bacteria contamination could be a random occurence rather than a trend, given the higher numbers in 2016, but high-profile cases may be bringing more scrutiny to food manufacturing, Yechezkel Kashi, a biotechnology professor at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, told ConsumerAffairs
“We also find that recalls increase as contamination detection methods improve and manufacturers implement more frequent product testing,” he said.
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Technion Professor Yechezkel Kashi is featured in this article.
