Why the US is seeing a wave of major food recalls this year
A string of high-profile food recalls in the US, from eggs to lettuce to berries, has fueled a sense of crisis, but experts say the overall recall count isn't dramatically higher than past years even as illness numbers rise.
Over the past few months, the US has faced a steady stream of high-profile food recalls. Shortly after Taylor Farms recalled iceberg lettuce tied to a large cyclospora outbreak, the FDA recalled more than a million eggs supplied by Midwest Poultry Services over possible salmonella contamination. Those eggs had been distributed to Kroger and smaller grocery stores across the South and Southwest. Taylor Farms later pulled more than a dozen jalapeño-based products, including guacamole and salsa, after its supplier, Coast Citrus Distributors, recalled peppers due to salmonella.
The list continues: frozen blueberries and mixed berries sold at Publix in several states were recalled over E. coli concerns, some Outshine fruit bars were pulled for possible glass contamination, and even dog food and eye drops have been subject to recent recalls. Collectively, these incidents have sickened thousands of people in the US.
Is the number actually rising?
According to the Poynter Institute, there had been 122 food and beverage recalls in the US as of July 31st this year, compared to 135 over the same period in 2025 and 146 in 2024. Darin Detwiler, a professor emeritus at Northeastern University, says recall activity does appear elevated but it's too early to say whether this year will surpass previous ones. Edward Dudley, a food science professor at Penn State, notes that summer typically brings more foodborne outbreaks and that media coverage of recalls has increased, which doesn't necessarily signal greater actual risk.
Still, a report from the US Public Interest Research Group points to a sharp rise in foodborne illness outbreaks. The cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce alone caused more than 9,000 illnesses, potentially making it the third-largest recorded foodborne outbreak in the US.
Fewer staff, weaker oversight
Experts warn of a growing "recall fatigue" that can turn into distrust of the food system when warnings become background noise. The situation is compounded by federal funding cuts under the Trump administration: the FDA's budget dropped by $271 million, and the agency lost more than 4,300 employees in 2025 and 2026, while the CDC cut over 2,800 jobs. The CDC has also scaled back surveillance of pathogens including cyclospora, listeria, and shigella, and the FDA has pushed back enforcement of a new food traceability rule to 2028.
