Yogurt Product Recalls That Affected Millions

Yahoo

2 days ago

While yogurt may be both delicious and nutritious, it can occasionally be dangerous. Although, maybe that's not so surprising, considering the main ingredients are dairy products and bacteria. (It's enough to get you wondering: What does it mean when yogurt has 'live and active cultures'?)
Yogurt and yogurt-based-products can be yanked off the shelves for any number of reasons, including bacterial infections, contamination, or undeclared ingredients. And while some of these recalls are quietly handled at the store or regional level, others can be nationwide recalls. These often involve the Food and Drug Administration and affect stores across the country, involving millions of dollars in product.
But even if a recall is huge, if it's not in your area, you may not hear about it unless you spot it on the news or check the FDA's website for recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts. That's why we've put together this list of some of the biggest recalls of yogurt-based products from recent history, to catch you up on some of the ones you might have missed. Oh, and if all this talk about yogurt recalls has got you searching for tips on how to keep your dairy products safe, you might want to double-check how long you can store yogurt in the fridge after opening.
Read more: Brands Of Vanilla Ice Cream Ranked From Worst To Best
There are lots of reasons why foods are recalled, and not all yogurt recalls are caused by problems with the yogurt itself. Some are due to problems with other ingredients. For example, on May 12, 2025, Knockroe Inc. PA, a Pennsylvania-based food wholesaler, recalled more than 130,000 of their Bonya-branded yogurt parfait products due to an undeclared almond contamination. Here, the problem wasn't the yogurt, but the granola mixed into the parfait, which contained almonds that weren't listed on the label. These were pulled from shelves due to the risk they pose to consumers who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to almonds.
These parfaits were distributed throughout Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania in a variety of retail stores, and were listed with an expiration date of May 5, 2025. Luckily, there have been no reported illnesses from this contamination. The FDA press release about the recall said the cause was a "temporary breakdown in the company's production and packaging processes." (Which sounds to us like, someone forgot to mention to the packagers that there were almonds in the granola.)
This next recall didn't feature accidental almonds, but accidental plastic -- which is never a good thing. In fact, plastic probably tops most people's list of "things I'd rather not have in my dairy products."
On April 25, 2025, Wells Ice Cream recalled almost 18,000 tubs of frozen yogurt and ice cream over potential plastic contamination, specifically that pieces of plastic could be found in their products. Wells is the manufacturer of Halo Top and Blue Bunny brands of ice cream, although none of the recalls came from those brands.
The nationwide recall included 22 flavors of ice cream and yogurt that were sold in 3-gallon tubs. The recalled ice cream was mostly from their Gordon Choice, Johnny Rockets, Keith Valley, and Ellington Farms brands, while the yogurt included tubs of their Planet Smoothie ZSA Vanilla Flavored Fat Free Frozen Yogurt. The affected products all had "Best If Used By" dates ranging from March to October 2026. You can see the complete list of recalled products on the FDA's website.
While pieces of plastic are one thing you don't want in your food, sometimes food is recalled because of a bunch of different unwanted ingredients. On December 12, 2024, the California-based food company Cal Yee Farm recalled a wide range of yogurt and chocolate-covered products because they might contain undeclared milk, soy, wheat, sesame, FD&C #6 and almonds. Which is a pretty impressive list of different allergens to cram into your candies, and also probably doubled the size of the ingredients list.
While this didn't make them dangerous to the average consumer, it did threaten anyone with an allergic sensitivity to any of these products. And the FDA recall notice included a warning that anyone with those sensitivities would "run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products."
The products were distributed in California, Arizona, Virginia, New Mexico, Texas, Oregon, Ohio, and Pennsylvania through their retail and online store. And they included yogurt-covered almonds, dark chocolate walnuts, dark chocolate raisins, dark chocolate almonds, and dark chocolate apricots, along with tropical trail mix, and butter toffee. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sudden, mysterious urge to go to a candy store. No reason.
This one's a yogurt-covered recall that stretches over the border, from Canada to California. You see, back on May 10, 2024, Western Mixers Produce & Nuts, Inc. of Ontario, CA recalled its line of Yogurt Covered Pretzels, because the yogurt may have been contaminated with Salmonella. These pretzels were brought into the U.S. and sold as bulk goods (mostly those big, generic tubs of store brand candies) throughout California at Thorp Fruit, Down Home Goods, Smart & Final, and Gelson's supermarkets.
According to the FDA recall alert, the Salmonella was detected during a routine sampling by an outside company that supplied the yogurt coating. And the company shut down production as soon as it was detected.
If you're not familiar with it, Salmonella is a bacteria that gives you stomach-flu-like symptoms, like cramps, nausea, and diarrhea. Rarely, it can cause more serious complications. It typically comes from consuming raw meat or eggs, unpasteurized dairy products, contaminated fresh produce, or food that has not been properly handled.
One of the largest recalls on this list, this 2024 recall saw the Palmer Candy Company issue a nationwide recall of its yogurt covered pretzels, along with a range of other candies like peanut butter snack mixes, white fudge cookies, and coated pretzel rods. Over 30 different confectionery products were involved in the huge recall, which was later upgraded to Class I due to its severity. The items went under 10 different brand names, including Freshness Guaranteed, Palmer, Sweet Smiles, Snackin' With The Crew, and Kwik Trip Inc.
Like the Western Mixers recall, this one was also caused by Salmonella being detected by one of the suppliers involved. And again, thankfully, no illnesses were reported from consumers.
According to the May, 2024 FDA recall notice, the white-coated candy was distributed in bags, pouches, and tubs at retailers like Walmart, HyVee, Target, and Dollar General. The candy was ultimately recalled from 17 states in total: Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
While many of the recalls we mentioned on this list ended up with just a brief interruption of production, this one had a longer-lasting result. On February 5, 2024, Rizo-López Foods recalled all of its yogurt and other dairy products because they had the potential to be contaminated with Listeria, which can cause listeriosis. The products included yogurt, cheese, and sour cream sold under the brand names Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo Bros, Rio Grande, Food City, El Huache, La Ordena, San Carlos, Campesino, Santa Maria, Dos Ranchitos, Casa Cardenas, and 365 Whole Foods Market.
According to the FDA, the recall was prompted by the Hawaii State Department of Health's Food and Drug Branch discovering Listeria in a sample of the company's Aged Cotija Mexican Grating Cheese. The recall then spread to other products and areas of the company.
26 illnesses occurred across 11 states, with 23 people being hospitalized; two people later died. And after an investigation of the company by the FDA, in October 2024, Rizo-López was hit with a permanent injunction barring it from manufacturing and selling food products until they met the FDA standards. As of time of publication, the decree still stands.
On January 19, 2024, Al Amir Fresh Foods of Milwaukie, Oregon, issued a recall of several products, due to undeclared ingredients. In this case, the Tzatziki Cucumber Yogurt was recalled due to undeclared milk, while the Classic Hummus Creamy Garbanzo, Harissa Spicy Hummus with a Kick, and Baba Ghannooj Grilled Eggplant hummus dip products were recalled due to undeclared sesame.
This one seems to be mainly a mistake in packaging, as the yogurt labels already included sour cream and yogurt as ingredients, and they simply neglected to also list milk. Likewise, the other products listed tahini as an ingredient, which is made from ground from sesame seeds and which makes a great nutty mayo swap for potato salad, while neglecting to include sesame. So, it seems likely the company simply neglected to include those words on the ingredient list. The recalled products came in 8 ounce clear containers that were sold in Washington and Oregon up to January 17, 2024.
A huge recall happened in December of 2023, when Quaker Oats issued a recall of their yogurt bars and variety packs due to possible Salmonella contamination. But the recall wasn't just for yogurt products, as it eventually grew to include over 40 kinds of cereals (including Cap'n Crunch and Quaker Oatmeal Squares), cereal bars, granola bars, and snack mix. So, basically every part of a balanced breakfast.
The affected products were sold throughout the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Saipan. And the recall was large enough that Quaker Oats set up a dedicated website for customers to see all of the recalled items, and to file for reimbursement (although it looks like that part has since been taken down). Customers were encouraged to destroy any item without eating it. It's not the first time the brand has had to recall products -- this instance was one of several Quaker Oats recalls that affected millions over the years.
While you definitely want some bacteria in your yogurt to make it, well, yogurt, you definitely want the right kind of bacteria. For example, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, which can be used as a probiotic to encourage good bacteria in the body, is good. But Listeria is very, very bad. That's why, in November of 2023, Wilcox Ice Cream recalled all flavors of its yogurt, ice cream, and other products after a container of mint chocolate ice cream was found to be possibly contaminated with the possibly fatal germ Listeria monocytogenes.
The recall came after the New Hampshire Department of Health found that the maker's Super Premium Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream tested positive for Listeria during routine testing in September of that year. The recall covered all brands and flavors of Wilcox brand yogurt, ice cream, and ice cream bars, as well as the Leonardo's brand of gelato.
Listeria are bacteria that can be deadly to the elderly, babies, or those with weakened immune systems. Healthier people often suffer from short-term symptoms like fever, headache, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Luckily, no injuries or illnesses were reported from consumers, according to Wilcox.
This one was focused on New England, as Sodexo Food Service locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island issued a recall of over 36,000 pounds of Simply To Go Strawberry Yogurt Parfaits and Simply To Go Blueberry Yogurt Parfaits on May 9, 2023. The reason? Undeclared soy products, which could trigger allergic reactions in customers with soy sensitivities -- although luckily, no cases of injuries from the parfaits were reported.
Incidentally, if you're trying to figure out how to find these kinds of dairy recalls, you might want to visit the website of the University of Wisconsin's Center for Dairy Research, which maintains a Dairy Recall Tracker. It's regularly updated with any new recall notices from the Food and Drug Administration, letting you find about any new food recalls quickly and easily. It's a handy tool that can help you figure out what dairy products should and shouldn't be in your fridge.
On April 25, 2023, Ellenos Real Greek, LLC of Washington, recalled their Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt, because it may have contained undeclared egg products. According to the FDA recall notice: "People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to egg run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product."
These 4 ounce yogurt cups -- one of the Costco recalls that affected millions -- were sold in Costco warehouse stores in Alaska, Oregon and Washington, with a best before date of 23 April, 2023 on the foil. No other Ellenos yogurts were affected in the recall, and even the marionberry yogurts that were contained in the same package were considered safe to eat.
According to the FDA, the recall came when they noticed that several cups containing a bright yellow puree were discovered in the mix, which turned out to be a lemon curd yogurt that used egg products. (The vanilla bean version doesn't, and so doesn't list egg products on their ingredients list.) Essentially, it wasn't the product listed on the label. But actually, that lemon curd yogurt sounds delicious, too, assuming you don't have any sensitivities to egg products.
Moving over to the granola aisle, on March 14, 2023, Clio Snacks recalled 581 cases of its Strawberry Granola & Greek Yogurt Parfait Bar due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The cases were sold at New Jersey Walmart stores between March 5, and March 8, 2023. No illnesses were reported from customers.
According to the FDA recall notice, the potential exposure to Listeria was at a third-party manufacturer's facility, where the strawberry parfait bars are produced, but that didn't handle any of the other flavors. This wasn't the first recall for Clio bars, as in 2021, the company issued a voluntary recall, writing on their recall site that "very small metallic fragments from a piece of production equipment may have made it into Clio Bars." And for something with "no added sugar," it sure seems like these bars had a lot of other things (possibly) added. But these are far from the only granola-related bars that have been recalled in the last several years.
On December 16, 2022, Culture Fresh Foods offered a recall of their True Goodness by Meijer Oat-Based Plain Yogurt Alternative, after it was discovered that their oat-based product was actually almond-based, and therefore posed a risk to buyers with an almond allergy. And while almond allergies are a very serious problem, I do find it ironic that their non-dairy alternative was accidentally contaminated with another non-dairy alternative. (And honestly, both of those alternatives sound great if you don't have any dietary restrictions or sensitivities.)
According to the FDA, the affected products were 24 ounce packages. This particular one also turned out to be significantly smaller than most of the other recalls on this list, as at least one news report said that only one lot of the yogurt was actually affected by the mistake. And instead of destroying the product, affected consumers were encouraged to return the product to Meijer stores for a refund.
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