A close comparison of food product recalls in 2025 and 2024 shows a food industry that made progress in some long-standing problem areas, only to stumble in a few new and uncomfortable ways. On the USDA side of the coin, total recalls increased from 52 in 2024 to 62 in 2025. Undeclared allergens accounted for the most USDA-regulated food recalls in 2025, with foreign materials accounting for 17 recalls, and Listeria monocytogenes accounting for eight.

Looking at the grand total recalls of both USDA- and FDA-regulated products in 2025, food and beverage recalls rose to a total of 567 in 2025 from only 513 in 2024. In both categories, undeclared allergens remained the perennial heavyweight of recall causes, proving to be stubbornly consistent year over year, dipping only slightly from 263 events in 2024 to 261 in 2025. In other words, nearly half of all recalls in both years can still be traced back to labeling failures rather than other types of contamination.

Within the allergen category, however, the mix changed noticeably. Wheat and gluten recalls fell sharply from 58 to 38, while egg-related recalls dropped from 23 to 18. On the other hand, milk recalls increased from 49 to 62, and tree nut recalls climbed from 32 to 43. Soy remained relatively stable, declining modestly from 47 to 44. The takeaway? Allergen controls may be improving in some areas, but the industry continues to struggle with the “big nine” in different ways at different times.

Pathogen-related recalls told a more optimistic story. Total pathogen recalls declined from 159 in 2024 to 148 in 2025. Listeria monocytogenes remained the leading microbial culprit, but, even there, total recalls dropped from 81 to 70. Salmonella followed a similar pattern, slipping from 58 to 54. Perhaps, most striking, was the sharp decline in E. coli recalls—from 14 events in 2024 down to just five in 2025 (three of those were USDA-regulated products). For companies investing heavily in environmental monitoring, sanitation validation, and supplier controls, this is one of the few areas where the data clearly suggests that prevention efforts may be paying dividends.

Unfortunately, any celebration is short-lived once foreign material recalls enter the picture. This category more than doubled, surging from 42 recalls in 2024 to a startling 89 in 2025. Metal fragments increased from 22 to 28, plastic from 16 to 27, and wood from a barely noticeable single event to 11 separate recalls. Glass remained flat at four events in each year, while rodent activity held steady at two. These numbers point less to random mishaps and more to systemic equipment, maintenance, and facility-control issues-often the unglamorous side of food safety that tends to get attention only after something goes wrong.

The miscellaneous category added a few more data points worth noting. Lead-related recalls declined modestly from 18 in 2024 to 16 in 2025, while mold-related recalls dropped more significantly from six to only two. Swollen or bloated packaging, however, ticked upward from six to eight events, often a red flag for process control failures or post-process contamination.

Viewed together, the 2025 versus 2024 recall data paints a picture of an industry that is slowly tightening the screws on pathogens, treading water on allergens, and losing ground on basic physical controls. It’s a reminder that food safety doesn’t fail in just one way, and that progress in one area can be easily overshadowed by complacency in another.

So, if 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: food safety wins are real—but they’re fragile. And the recall numbers never stop keeping score. Good luck to all in 2026.