Keeping Track of Food Safety Recalls

By Jane Farrell

In all likelihood you’ve heard about some recalls on television or in the newspaper, but that may not be all the information you need. Here, from the website www.foodsafety.gov, is what you need to know about food recalls, and how to find the latest information:

Recalls & Alerts

A food recall occurs when there is reason to believe that a food may cause consumers to become ill. A food manufacturer or distributor initiates the recall to take foods off the market. In some situations, food recalls are requested by government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Some reasons for recalling food include:

Discovery of an organism in a product that may make consumers sick

Discovery of a potential allergen

Mislabeling or misbranding of food. For example, the foodsafety experts say, a food may contain an allergen, such as nuts or eggs, but those ingredients do not appear on the label.

What You Can Do to Keep Track

While it may seem overwhelming to keep track of every possible product recall alert, the FDA and USDA have made it simpler with a group of easy-to-use resources:

To keep up with the latest recalls, click here for up-to-date information from foodsafety.gov.

You can view the FDA’s list of recalls and safety alerts over the past five years by clicking here.

Pet foods are also subject to recall and alert. For the latest on what could affect your pet, click here.

For more information, visit www.foodsafety.gov.