As many of you know, our firm closely tracks all recalls of food and beverage products sold in the US. At the end of each year, we have routinely published a review of the previous year’s recalls of USDA regulated products. One of the things we enjoy most, when the statistics are favorable, is sending a well-deserved congratulation to our colleagues. This year is no exception, as the meat and poultry industries did a fabulous job producing safe products in 2024.

While we did observe some notable and high-profile recalls for the suspected presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella last year, the meat industry did well, overall, controlling for pathogens in their products. Notably, there were only 12 recalls announced in 2024 because of the potential presence of harmful pathogens. Seven recalls were caused by Listeria, three recalls were caused by E. coli O157:H7, and two recalls were caused by Salmonella. This is quite impressive, and likely a direct function of the ever-increasing attention and focus there have been on pathogen control in food facilities by both regulators and industry.  

While improvements can always be made, industry also did well managing undeclared allergens last year. In total, there were only 23 recalls for the presence of undeclared allergens. Eight recalls were caused by undeclared soy, six were caused by undeclared wheat, four were caused by undeclared sesame, three were caused by undeclared milk, and the final two were caused by undeclared egg and fish, respectively. The fish came in the form of undeclared anchovies in a chicken salad.

Foreign materials led to the recall of only seven products in 2024.  Metal, plastic, bones, rocks, and rubber were responsible for those recalls. Here too, the number of recalls for foreign materials last year remained remarkably low. This, we view, as a very significant accomplishment by industry.

In addition to overseeing the execution of voluntary recalls, USDA continues to use Public Health Alerts as an additional tool to inform consumers about potential risks associated with products.  In 2024, USDA issued a total of 18 public health alerts.  Seven were issued warning consumers about undeclared allergens, two were issued containing warnings for the potential presence of pathogens (in ground beef and burritos), and three were issued for foreign material concerns.  The remainder of recalls and alerts in 2024 involved varying issues such as products that were produced without the benefit of inspection or other inspectional matters.   

Thus, overall, the meat and poultry industries did well in 2024.  As we move deeper into 2025, we should expect to see continued USDA focus on maintaining the progress that industry has made over the course of the last year.  And, once again, we are delighted to offer a well-deserved congratulations to industry.  Keep producing great products, and keep up the fabulous work.