The Food and Drug Administration recently issued a series of food recalls, including Stouffer’s frozen meals on March 18, Savage Pet cat food on March 15 and Wangzhihe hot pot sauce on March 11. The FDA warns consumers about potential health risks from contaminated products and advises them to check labels for affected items. As a part of Mako Media Health Update, Aarti Raja, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, discussed the increase in food recalls.
Q: We’ve been hearing that this year is the highest food recall since 2019. Why is that?
A: In reality, the numbers may seem that way, where we’re seeing a lot of food recalls especially in 2023 and 2024. But if you look at the overall numbers, we’re not that far off from pre-COVID days. There are a couple of reasons, why we may be seeing increased food recalls. One of the things could be we are consuming more food that’s coming from lots of different places. We’re importing a lot of food. The second thing is we’re also consuming a lot more processed food. In general, these are some of the reasons why they think there may be an increased food recall. And the biggest of them all is we’ve probably gotten a lot better at screening and tracing food recalls with better technology. So, with that, we’re probably catching more of the things that we may never have caught before.
Q: What symptoms should someone look for if they think that they’ve eaten a food that’s been recalled?
A: The classic symptoms, if you end up consuming food that you think may have been contaminated in some form, would be abdominal cramps. You may get nausea, vomiting and maybe diarrhea as well. Any of these symptoms could be an indication that maybe you ate something that was contaminated.
Q: What is the most common health risk that’s associated with food recalls?
A: For a normal, healthy individual, if you end up consuming a food that has been recalled, you probably will have some kind of gastrointestinal trouble that is usually mild. The problem is more in people who are immunocompromised, either young children or people who have some other condition or disease, the complications can be greater. Sometimes the unfortunate and harsh complication and could end up being death.
Q: What steps should someone take to prevent these health risks?
A: Keep your hands clean, keep the area where you keep your food clean. And for the most part, cook your food before you consume it.
Q: How effective is the food recall system in reality?
A: In the United States it’s very effective. They do a very good job of monitoring, the agencies that are out there do a good job of monitoring our food, catching things that may be problematic, and reporting things that may be problematic. So, to be fair, our food is actually quite safe to consume. Yes, we may be seeing increased numbers, but I see it as I think the system is working. Then, they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.
Q: Any last thoughts?
A: It is important to pay attention to what the reason is behind the recall. While foodborne illnesses and microorganisms are one of the reasons why food gets recalled, it’s not always the only reason. Paying attention to that also matters.
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