What’s The Deal With All The Food Recalls And Outbreaks Lately?

You may have noticed there’s been an influx of food recalls recently. McDonald’s Quarter Pounders are at the center of an E. coli outbreak. Boar’s Head is under fire for selling contaminated deli meat that resulted in multiple hospitalizations and deaths. Last week, chicken products sold at Costco and multiple batches of frozen waffles were pulled from the shelves due to concerns they contained listeria.
Food recalls have always been a thing — the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture’s food safety office release new alerts on a near-daily basis — but they’ve steadily increased over the past few years. At least one corporate analysis suggests food recalls rose 20% from 2020 to 2023. There have also been more Class I recalls, which carry the highest risk of severe illness and death.
So, what’s behind all these food recalls? “This increase is likely due to a combination of factors, including failures in sanitation and compliance throughout the supply chain, as well as improved detection methods and stricter safety measures that have led to more effective identification of foodborne illness outbreaks and contamination incidents,” Darin Detwiler, a food safety advisor and professor at Northeastern University, told HuffPost.
Food recalls ebb and flow over time, said Donald W. Schaffner, chair of the department of food science at Rutgers University. For example, the USDA issued 124 recalls in 2019. That dropped to 31 in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and climbed back up to 65 in 2023.
If food recalls are, in fact, becoming more common, it’s natural to wonder if the manufacturers are at fault. Detwiler thinks it’s unlikely companies have intentionally deprioritized food safety. But have other pressures — such as labor shortages, inflation and increased demand — negatively affected food safety practices? It’s plausible.
Many large food manufacturers, including McDonald’s, typically have outstanding reputations as being food safety leaders, Schaffner said. But when companies cut costs, food safety is often the first department that takes a hit.
“They may reduce investments in critical areas like employee training, sanitation protocols or equipment upgrades, all of which can contribute to food safety issues,” Detwiler said.
Supply chain disruptions, which have continued to affect the food industry since the pandemic, may make it more difficult to maintain food safety standards.
“Workers may not be adequately trained, or the pressure to meet production goals could lead to rushed processes that overlook safety protocols,” Detwiler said.
There are many ways for bacteria like listeria, salmonella, campylobacter and E.coli to contaminate food.
“Pathogens can get into food from contaminated soil, contaminated water, run-off from fields, and poor food handling practices by people,” Janet Buffer, the senior manager of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, told HuffPost.
For food to get from a farm or factory to your plate, it typically undergoes multiple stages of production, processing, and transportation — often across international borders, according to Detwiler. This complex, multistep process makes it harder to stop safety issues once they start.
“One contaminated point in the supply chain can lead to large-scale outbreaks,” Detwiler said.
Research shows that modern intensive animal farming and unsafe agricultural practices have also contributed to the spread of pathogens.
Some pathogens, such as listeria, thrive in cold, moist environments like that slice of Boar’s Head deli meat, said Mitzi Baum, CEO of Stop Foodborne Illness. These bugs are resilient and can survive in otherwise hostile conditions, such as the prepared food kits in the frozen or refrigerated sections at your local grocery store.
Perhaps the biggest reason we’re seeing more food recalls is because food safety surveillance and detection methods have gotten a lot better in recent years. That means this probably won’t change anytime soon ― which is generally a good thing.
Advancements in technologies, such as whole-genome sequencing, have helped food safety officials more quickly and easily track and trace food-borne pathogens, according to Detwiler. WGS lets public health officials identify bacteria strains and link outbreaks to specific foods and producers. This wasn’t always possible.
“The more cases that can be linked, the easier it is for the epidemiologist to figure out what the common source might be — Quarter Pounders for McDonald’s or deli meats sliced at retail eventually focusing on liverwurst for Boar’s Head,” Schaffner said.
At the same time, surveillance systems, like PulseNet, have improved, which has helped researchers identify food contaminants in real time, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Even smaller outbreaks that might have gone undetected in the past are now being identified and investigated more thoroughly,” Detwiler said.
While it’s possible food contamination is becoming more common, we may also just be better at detecting and catching them.
“I think what we are really seeing are the results of improved detection practices and increased public awareness,” Buffer said.
First, always wash your hands with soap and water before you cook, after preparing foods and prior to eating. Rinse your vegetables, especially your leafy greens, under running water, the CDC advises, and avoid cross-contamination by separating raw meat from ready-to-eat food in your shopping bags and refrigerator.
Proteins, like beef, poultry and fish, should be thoroughly cooked (you can find the safest temperatures here). “This kills the pathogen that may exist within that product,” Baum said. A tip from Buffer: Don’t eyeball it. Use a thermometer.
Unfortunately, many of the pathogens that can make you sick are tough to detect. “You can’t see, taste or smell them,” Baum said.
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It’s crucial to stay on top of food recalls, which you can do by checking out the FDA or USDA’s websites or signing up for email alerts here. Many grocery stores’ websites have a page dedicated to recent recalls.
Pathogens are all around us, but following these steps can help reduce your chances of contracting a foodborne illness.