2024 Food Recalls from Listeria and E. Coli: Should You Be Worried?

Due to the ongoing Grimway Farms carrot recalls from E. Coli contamination, concerns about the number of food recalls have been in the news. This present recall follows on the heels of a huge E. coli outbreak from McDonald’s slivered onions, as well as an alarming Listeria outbreak involving deli meats, a Boar’s Head deli meats product.

The press is reporting that food recalls have been on the rise between 2020 and 2023. Also, to the public’s distress, it is reported that there has been a much greater incidence of Listeria recalls this year. In this article, I will break down the food recalls that have occurred in 2024, including recalls for Listeria, Salmonella, E. Coli, and all other causes, and explain to you whether you should be concerned or not.

First, the Grimway Farms carrot recalls affected many brands of carrots that are commonly found in stores, therefore affecting many customers. The recall affected select organic and organic baby carrots that have been contaminated with Shig toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) This bacteria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, elderly folks, and people with a compromised immune system. Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting. It takes anywhere from 24 hours to 10 days for E. coli to incubate, although on average the incubation period is 3 to 4 days.

As of this writing, 39 illnesses and one death have occurred as a result of this outbreak. You can visit the FDA’s page to find out if a product you purchased was included in the recall.

In July 2024 a major Listeria outbreak from meats sliced at a deli, including Boar’s Head brand liverwurst. The contaminated meat resulted in 59 cases and 10 deaths.

In October 2024, a significant number of people were also infected by an Escherichia coli outbreak due to eating McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers. The illnesses were caused by contaminated slivered onions used in the sandwiches. These onions were traced by the Taylor Farms, the California company that supplied the onions.

Illness Cases From McDonald’s Outbreak

Cases: 104
Hospitalizations: 34
Deaths: 1
States: 14

Food Recalls in 2023

According to my count of FDA recall data, in 2023 there were 234 food recalls. Most of these (49%) were due to undeclared allergens, by far the most common reason for food recalls. The following list provides a summary of the amount of recalls due to various issues. Keep in mind that most food recalls caused by foodbourne pathogens are done out of an abundance of caution based on the potential for contamination.

Listeria contamination: 36 (15%)
Salmonella: 21 (9% includes 5 pet food recalls)
E. coli: 2 (0.85%)
Clostridium botulinum: 2 (0.85%)
Chronobacter bacterium: 4 (1.7%)
Hepatitis A.: 4 (1.7%)
Undeclared Allergens: 94 (40%)
Unidentified Foodborne Illness: 5 (2%)
Foreign objects (particulates, plastic, metal, etc.): 4 (1.7%)
Choking hazards: 3 (1.3%)
Unapproved Ingredient Safety ( PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil): 2 (0.85%)

The biggest reason for the larger amount of recalls in 2023 was that more companies than before failed to declare allergens. Of the 94 recalls due to food allergens, 30 were milk, 24 were soy, and 22 were undeclared peanuts.

The majority of recalls due to Listeria were listed as “potential Listeria contamination.” This means that there were no actual outbreaks and the recalls were initiated out of caution. The same is true of the other foodborne pathogens.

Food Recalls in 2024

Again, according to my own count using FDA data for recalls, there have been 175 food recalls in 2024, as of this writing. The greatest number of these is again caused by undeclared allergens (75) comprising 43% of all food recalls. Milk (18), wheat (17), and eggs (11) comprised the greatest number of these.

The following list contains the number of recalls due to various issues.

Listeria: 52 (29.7% includes 1 pet food recall)
Salmonella: 29 (6.5% includes 5 pet food recalls)
E. coli: 3 (1.7% including carrot recall)
Clostridium botulinum: 3 (1.7%)
Chronobacter bacterium: 1 (0.6%)
Unnamed Potential Foodborne Illness: 1 (0.6%)
Undeclared Allergens: 75 (43%)
Lead: 13 (7.4% all in cinnamon)
Potential Mold: 3 (1.7%)
Foreign objects (particulates, plastic, metal, etc.): 4 / (1.1% includes 2 in pet food)
Choking hazards: 3 (1.3%)
Unapproved Ingredient Safety ( PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil): 2 (0.85%)

Other reasons listed for recalls were

Too much vitamin D in infant formula: 2
Elevated mineral content in chicken feed and pet food: 2
No vitamin D fortification in pet food: 1
Potential for being underprocessed: 1
Food compliance baby formula issue: 1
Insufficient nutrition in baby formula: 1
Potential glass breakage: 1
Konjac powder choking hazard: 1

Should You Be Worried About An Increase In Food Recalls Due to Listeria or E. coli?

There has been a much greater rate of recalls due to Listeria this year in 2024. This has caused many alarming headlines and public concern over the startling incidence of Listera in our food. While three large outbreaks triggered recalls, including McDonald’s, Boar’s Head, and Grimway Farms carrots, many of the other recalls this year are once again due to potential contamination. While the number of Listeria recalls may seem greater this year, much of this is due to better detection methods.

One method that allows this is genome squencing. This allows the CDC to link cases together that they may not have otherwise been able to link. Since more cases of foodbourne illness can be traced to their source through genome sequencing, there are more recalls. This does not mean there is more listeria.

While large and sometimes deadly outbreaks do occur, such as the one this year, they are essentially random events. Just because a cluster of deadly outbreaks occur close together doesn’t mean you should be worried about an increase in outbreaks. They can occur at any time or not at all. ¹