Research indicates increase of food recalls in the US

 

In a report that was released in January 2019, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund found that food recalls had increased 10% in the United States between 2013 – 2018.  During this five-year period, meat and poultry recalls increased 67%. Processed food and produce recalls increased by 2%. Researchers were not able to identify the reasons for the increase in the food recalls.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approximately 48 million people become ill, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne contaminates each year in the United States.   

In 2018, there were 703 food recalls in the U.S. During the five-year period of 2013 – 2018, the highest number of annual food recalls occurred in 2016, when 905 food recalls were documented. During this five-year period poultry had the most recalls (168), followed by beef (137), and pork (128).

As a result of the food recall study, PIRG is recommending adjustments for the U.S. food production and distribution system. One recommendation is better testing for irrigation water. Contaminated water was linked to romaine lettuce recalls in 2018.

Sources:

“Food recalls up 10 percent since 2013 as foodborne illnesses kill 3,000 Americans a year” by Sean Rossman, USA Today, January 17, 2019. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2019/01/17/food-recalls-increasing-romaine-lettuce-beef-pirg-usda-fda-ecoli-salmonella/2595775002/

“Food recalls up 10 percent; meat and poultry incidents up 67 percent since 2013” by Carmen Reinicke, Washington Post/Bloomberg News, January 20, 2019. https://www.denverpost.com/2019/01/20/food-recalls-increasing-meat/#:~:text=If%20it%20feels%20like%20you,poultry%20incidents%20soaring%2067%20percent.

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