Food recalls due to bacteria contamination reached their highest levels within five years in 2024, driven by a surge of recalls from the germs Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella.
There have been 154 recalls filed with federal food regulators due to contamination from the "big three" pathogens—E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella—as of Dec. 30, up from 87 recalls in 2023 and the highest number since 165 recalls in 2019, according to data provided to ConsumerAffairs by law firm Food Industry Counsel.
Listeria and Salmonella recalls hit their highest levels since 2019 and 2018, reaching 80 and 61 recalls, respectively.
A combination of increased pathogen detection, an inability to prevent germs in food manufacturing and regulators overreacting to food companies combatting contamination is what has boosted the number of bacteria food recalls recently, Shawn Stevens, attorney at Food Industry Counsel, told ConsumerAffairs.
"We see an explosion of types and scopes of food products being recalled," he said. "Unless either side gives, even if only a little, we will see the number of recalls continue to increase."
Still, the higher levels of food recalls because of bacteria contamination could be a random occurence rather than a trend, given the higher numbers in 2016, but high-profile cases may be bringing more scrutiny to food manufacturing, Yechezkel Kashi, a biotechnology professor at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, told ConsumerAffairs
"We also find that recalls increase as contamination detection methods improve and manufacturers implement more frequent product testing," he said.
What is Listeria?
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacteria that is more likely to sicken the elderly, newborns, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems, causing serious and even life-threatening infections.
Healthier individuals may suffer short-term symptoms such as fever, headaches, nausea and abdominal pain.
An estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis, which is treated with antibiotics, each year and about 260 die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were two massive Listeria recalls in 2024.
The biggest Listeria recall in 2024 was from BrucePac, which recalled more than 11.7 million pounds of ready-to-eat poultry and meat products in October. No illnesses were reported.
The second-biggest Listeria recall was from Boar's Head: More than 7 million pounds of deli meat was recalled and the contaminated meat hospitalized dozens of people and killed nine.
What is Salmonella?
Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting, but some forms of the bacteria can lead to more serious illness.
The CDC estimates there are around 1.35 million Salmonella infections a year, with most coming from food.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are 125,000 chicken-associated and almost 43,000 turkey-associated foodborne Salmonella illnesses per year.
USDA testing has shown Salmonella contamination in poultry has been declining, but there hasn't been any reductions in illnesses.
What needs to happen to prevent Listeria and Salmonella in food?
Concerns about Listeria spurred the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to take new steps in December to curb the infectious germ, including broader testing for Listeria to all samples of ready-to-eat meat, recruiting more experts and requiring more training of staff, among other actions.
"Over the past several months, Listeria monocytogenes has been linked to foodborne illness outbreaks and large-scale recalls of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, causing the agency to review its processes closely," the FSIS said.
In July, the USDA also proposed a ban on Salmonella in raw chicken, which would prohibit the ban the sale of raw poultry with levels higher than 10 colony-forming units per gram of Salmonella that is likely to cause illness—otherwise, it needs to be cooked before being sold.
To prevent more contamination, food makers need to reinforce their protocols and standards, Peter Follows, chief executive at consultancy Carpedia, told ConsumerAffairs.
"This may mean augmenting contamination and temperature control procedures, coordinating supply chain management, improving employee training, developing better equipment maintenance and sanitation programs, or implementing more sophisticated testing and traceability systems," he said.