Canned Food Recalls That Affected Millions

Yahoo

26-04-2025

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The U.S. has seen a notable increase in food recalls, with the number of cases rising by 15% between 2020 and 2024 (via Trace One). This spike can be attributed to a number of factors, including the relaxation of safety protocols during COVID-19 and improvements in pathogen-detection technology. The list of recalled foods has included canned goods, which are particularly vulnerable to contamination because of their complex processing requirements. Canned food can also be particularly problematic due to its long shelf life, which means that it can sit unnoticed in pantries long after safety concerns are made public.
Canned products have been around for a while, dating back to the early 1800s when Frenchman Nicolas Appert developed a method of prolonging the life of food by sealing it in glass jars and heating it. By 1810, Englishman Peter Durand introduced the use of tin-coated steel cans. As canned food gained commercial popularity, so did the risks associated with mass production, with the first publicized incident of serious contamination taking place in 1919.
Curious to find out about some of the most significant canned food recalls in history? Take a look at our roundup of the biggest contamination scares that have rocked the canned goods industry!
Read more: Canned Foods You Should Avoid At All Costs
Whether it's a green bean casserole or a green bean stir-fry, canned green beans make a convenient alternative to their fresh counterparts. Unfortunately, home chefs who purchased their cans of green beans at Target in early 2025 should check their pantry. In February, the retail giant announced a recall of nearly 200,000 cans of its Good & Gather Cut Green Beans due to a potential contamination with a "foreign object."
Manufactured by California-based Del Monte Foods for Target's in-house Good & Gather brand, the 14.5-ounce cans of green beans were sold in 21 states. The product carries the use by date of October 28, 2026, which means that the recall is still ongoing as of the publication date of this article. Target's green bean recall was categorized as a Class II recall by the FDA, which means that exposure to the product "may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote." It's unclear what type of "foreign object" was found in the affected cans.
Seafood contamination cases are relatively common in the U.S., with the FDA issuing close to 2,500 seafood recalls since 2002. One of the most recent incidents involved tuna. Issued on February 7, 2025, the product recall involved Genova, Van Camp's, H-E-B, and Trader Joe's brands of canned tuna. The products had been manufactured by Tri-Union Seafoods, which announced the recall "out of an abundance of caution" after discovering issues with the product's packaging.
The manufacturing defect concerned the "easy open" pull tab lids used to open the cans of the fish. The concern was that the faulty lids could leak over time — in the worst case scenario, leading to contamination with clostridium botulinum — a potentially deadly bacteria. Consumers have been advised not to eat the canned tuna, even if it appears and smells fine. Some of the grocery stores affected by the recall included Trader Joe's, Costco, Walmart, Kroger, and Safeway. As of this publication, no illnesses have been reported in connection to the canned tuna recall.
A classic comfort food, chicken pot pie is normally made with chicken, vegetables, and a creamy sauce, all encased in a flaky pie crust. Chicken pot pie soup offers the same hearty flavors without the crust for a lighter and easier to prepare meal. When it comes to convenience, there isn't a more effortless way to enjoy the soup than by warming up a canned version of the dish.
Regrettably, in 2023, canned chicken pot pie soup came under scrutiny due to mislabeling. Manufactured by Aunt Kitty's Foods Inc., the ready-to-eat canned soup was pulled from shelves after it was discovered that it contained soy, an allergen not listed on the product's label. The affected product was HANOVER SOUP CLASSICS Chicken Pot Pie with a best by date of September 2026. At the end of the day, approximately 15,728 pounds of the canned product were pulled off the shelves in Ohio, Maryland, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. There have been no reported cases of consumers experiencing any negative reactions after eating the product.
Food recalls differ in magnitude. The canned meat and poultry recall issued in 2023 stood out due to its sheer scale. More specifically, the recall involved more than 2.5 million pounds of canned products manufactured by Conagra Brands. These included tinned Vienna sausages and potted meat sold under brand names such as Armour Star, Goya, Grace, Great Value, Hargis House, Hereford, Kroger, Prairie Belt, and Valrico. The products had been distributed nationwide.
The canned goods were recalled after Conagra Brands of Iowa notified the FSIS that it had discovered leaking and spoiled cans at its warehouse. While no more information has been provided about the nature of the packaging defect, it was reported at the time that it could lead to contamination that may not be easily seen or smelled. It's unclear what foodborne pathogens the company was referring to. Despite their widespread reach, there have been no known cases of illness or negative reactions related to the canned meat and poultry products as of this publication.
On July 6, 2022, Bumble Bee Foods issued a recall of its 3.75-ounce cans of smoked clams. The announcement was made after the FDA found "detectable levels" of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the canned product. The canned clams had been manufactured by an undisclosed third party in China. Notably, another recall involving baby clams was issued for Crown Prince Natural Smoked Baby Clams in olive oil on July 15, 2022. It's unclear whether the recalls are linked, but it's pretty likely.
While no information was provided about what constitutes "detectable levels," PFAS are a class of human-made chemicals added to consumer and industrial products. They are slow to break down and can accumulate in the body over time. Some types of PFAS have been associated with a range of health issues, including elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, weakened immunity, liver dysfunction, pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and a higher risk of developing cancer. No specific adverse health effects have been linked to either of the canned goods as of this publication.
The 2015 canned seafood recall was so widespread and financially damaging that it ultimately ended up putting Oregon-based Skipanon Brand Seafoods out of business. According to The Astorian, the struggle to bounce back after the recall played a part in the company's closure in 2018.
The product recall in question involved all of the company's canned seafood products. The concern was under-processing, which raised the risk of contamination with clostridium botulinum, the bacteria responsible for botulism — a serious form of food poisoning that can lead to death. Symptoms of botulism include dizziness, muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, and abdominal distention. The canned seafood goods had been distributed in Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. No illnesses were linked to the canned seafood at the time.
In October 2015, two companies expanded the recall of their canned seafood products processed by Skipanon due to the risk of botulism. Oregon-based Northwest Wild Products and Washington-based Dungeness Seaworks both widened their recalls to include canned black cod, albacore tuna, salmon, sardines, steelhead, tuna, sturgeon, and razor clams.
Known for being convenient and mess-free, SpaghettiOs are small, ring-shaped pasta marketed to children. In 2010, the popular canned product attracted attention for all the wrong reasons when it became the subject of a nationwide recall. After discovering a safety issue, the Campbell Soup Supply Company announced a recall of 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs products, including 14.75-ounce cans of SpaghettiOs with Meatballs, SpaghettiOs A to Z with Meatballs, and SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars).
The reason for the voluntary removal of the product from the market was potential under-processing. The problem — or, more precisely, undercooked meat — was identified during a routine warehouse inspection. The issue was traced back to a malfunctioning cooker at a plant in Texas. It was unclear at the time how long this problem had been going on, and the recall was initiated "out of an abundance of caution." No illnesses had been linked to the product at the time.
The recall of Similac infant formula might just be one of the more unusual cases of food safety lapses due to its somewhat bizarre cause. Initiated in 2010 by Abbott Laboratories, the product was pulled from the shelves due to the potential presence of the common beetle in the food — or their larvae. The presence of the small intruder was traced back to a manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan, after complaints by consumers.
In total, around 5 million 8-ounce, 12.4-ounce, and 12.9-ounce cans of Similac powdered infant formula were withdrawn from the market. The formula had been distributed nationwide, as well as in Puerto Rico, Guam, and several Caribbean countries, where it was sold under different labels. At the time, a spokeswoman for Abbott Laboratories, Melissa Brotz, told Reuters, "When we identified this, we did extensive testing of every product on the (factory) line, and more than 99.8 percent of the product was negative" for beetle contamination.
While not life-threatening, the FDA warned that consuming this particular type of beetle could lead to irritation of the gastrointestinal tract and discomfort. Abbott Laboratories temporarily ceased production of the infant formula at the affected facility while it was fumigated for pests.
While a lot of food recalls are initiated as a precaution and don't actually result in any serious illnesses, this wasn't the case when botulism was traced to canned chili sauce in July 2007. In fact, in July of that year, four people in Texas and Indiana were hospitalized with this potentially life-threatening condition after consuming Castleberry's hot dog chili sauce.
To mitigate the crisis, Castleberry's Food Company announced a voluntary recall of Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce Original, Castleberry's Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce Original, and Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce. The recall was later widened to include other products that were produced in the same cookers at the company's plant in Augusta, Georgia, including 91 different types of canned chili sauces, meat and chicken products, and dog food.
Despite the measures taken by Castleberry's Food Company, by August 24, four more cases of botulism were traced back to the products. After investigating the Castleberry's plant, the FDA cited the company for the "failure to maintain fixtures in repair sufficient to prevent food from becoming adulterated" (via Marler Clark).
Seafood recalls aren't uncommon. however, one that really stands out due to its size is the canned salmon recall of 1982. In fact, at the time, the U.S. General Accounting Office referred to it as one of the largest food recalls in recent history. The security alert was triggered by the death of a Belgian man who had eaten U.S. canned salmon, which was later found to contain clostridium botulinum — the bacteria that causes botulism. The recall ended up affecting more than 50 million cans that had been manufactured at eight different packing plants.
The product withdrawal, which impacted a large portion of Alaska's salmon industry, was traced back to faulty equipment that created small holes in the cans, allowing bacteria to enter the food. The potential contamination affected multiple producers, including the Whitney-Fidalgo plant in Alaska, which had to flag all of its cans from 1980 and 1981 as unsafe for consumption due to the risk of botulism contamination. Despite the widespread nature of the recall, only one fatality was ever linked to the canned salmon.
While nothing beats fresh mushrooms, there are many reasons why consumers might choose their tinned counterparts instead. They are ready straight out of the can, have a long shelf life, and can be found out of season. Unfortunately, in 1973, canned mushrooms made national headlines when 75 million cans of mushrooms produced by United Canning in Ohio were marked for the first major US food recall. The alarm was initially raised by an employee who noticed swelling in some of the cans — a potential indicator of botulism contamination.
Although no illnesses were ever connected with the canned mushrooms, the incident led to what is today referred to as The Great Michigan Pizza Funeral. According to the story, some of the offending canned mushrooms made their way to Papa Fabbrini's Frozen Pizzas restaurant. Concerned about potential contamination, Mario Fabbrini had his mushroom pizzas tested, only to discover that numerous lab mice died after consuming the product. Rather than trashing the 30,000 frozen mushroom pizzas, Fabbrini organized a mock funeral for the spoiled inventory. When all was said and done, it turned out that the mushroom pizzas weren't the reason behind the demise of the lab mice — still, we can't fault Fabbrini for choosing this over-the-top send-off.
In 1971, Sam Cochran died from botulism after sharing a can of Bon Vivant vichyssoise soup with his wife. While she also became critically ill, Cochran's wife survived the ordeal. The duo consumed the cold potato leek soup not knowing that it had been contaminated with botulism due to improper processing. No other known cases of illness or death linked to the canned soup were reported at the time.
Initially, Bon Vivant recalled 6,444 cans from the same vichyssoise soup batch. However, following testing by the FDA, the recall was expanded to all of the company's canned products, a mammoth task since it processed around 4 million cans of food annually under a range of labels like Reese Finer Foods, Gristedes, Honey Bear Farms, and Marshall Field. The brands were sold by close to 100 leading wholesale retailers. The incident ultimately led to Bon Vivant filing for bankruptcy later that same year. Interestingly, Bon Vivant rebranded as Moore & Co. and resumed operations in 1972 — just 16 months after the recall.
Sometimes referred to as the "Great Cranberry Scare," the canned cranberry sauce recall undoubtedly disrupted many Thanksgiving feasts in 1959. Just 17 days before the autumn celebration was to take place, a federal agency announced that some cranberries from Oregon and Washington were found to contain aminotriazole, a weed killer linked to thyroid cancer in rats.
At the time, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Arthur Flemming, advised that fresh and canned cranberries from both states be pulled off grocery store shelves for public safety reasons. This warning was issued under the 1958 Delaney Clause in the Food Additives Amendment, which banned any food additives shown to cause cancer in humans or animals.
As panic spread, millions of gallons of cranberry sauce were dumped. Even President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower took no chances with cranberry sauce that year, instead opting for good ol' applesauce. The kicker? In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, officials approved more than 16 million pounds of cranberries as safe for consumption.
The 1919 "recall" of canned olives was one of the first, and likely most significant, food recalls for national food safety in the U.S., because it set the stage for federal oversight of commercial food production. With at least 18 fatalities in Ohio, New York, and Michigan, it was also one of America's deadliest food scares. The culprit was clostridium botulinum, the toxic bacteria that can be found in improperly canned food. The deaths were connected to cans of black olives that had been packed at a facility in California and shipped throughout the country.
Canning was still a relatively new phenomenon in the U.S. in the early 20th century, having only been introduced in the country around 1825. While canned food grew in popularity during the Civil War, the population was still skeptical about this new way of preserving food. Some of the most common concerns involved taste, texture, and spoilage, and the canned olive outbreak certainly didn't help to build public trust.
Although no formal recall of the canned olives was issued in the way it would be today, the publicity surrounding the incident prompted the formation of the Botulism Commission, which was tasked with investigating the outbreak. The steps taken by the commission eventually led to the establishment of stricter food safety protocols for canned goods in the U.S.
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