All About Recalls

How to find out and what to do if a food or product you bought is deemed unsafe

- BY Editors at TheHealthy.com

AT THE END of 2024, Walmart shoppers in 20 states learned that the bagged Marketside broccoli florets at their local stores were being recalled.

A month later, the FDA reclassified the recall as Class 1, the highest danger level, meaning the product could cause serious health issues or even death. The problem was potential contamination with listeria, a bacteria that can cause severe food poisoning. There were no reported illnesses or deaths when the recall was announced, and no more of the product was being sold, since it's illegal for retailers to sell recalled products. But health experts worried that some people might still have some of the broccoli in their refrigerator or freezer.

Social media lit up. One woman reported that she had to go to the emergency room for severe dehydration caused by food poisoning after eating the broccoli. “I had no idea about the recall until it was too late,” she posted. “I am so sick ... thank God my kids did not eat it!”

Stories like this are terrifying, of course. No one wants to think that they have food at home that might make them sick, or products that could be dangerous. But while recalls might be scary, they’re actually quite common. There were about 300 food recalls in 2024, and more than 3,200 product recalls, including medications, personal care products, furniture, toys, baby supplies and cars.

In the first half of 2025 alone, we have seen recalls of products as diverse as peanut butter crackers, chocolate, cough syrup, pet food, canned tuna, baby teething sticks, eye drops, waffles ... the list goes on and on. But remember that recalls are an important way government and consumer agencies monitor safety and try to prevent illness and injury by removing risky products from the market.