A total of 320 food recalls were issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2025. That year, a total of 1,003 people were recorded as having become sick after having eaten the food, with 235 cases of people having been hospitalized and 22 deaths. This is according to the latest data published by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).
The most common reason for food recalls in 2025 was undeclared allergens. This accounted for nearly four in ten cases (38.8 percent) of all food recalls. The most common allergens recalls were due to milk (20.6 percent of undisclosed allergens recalls), tree nuts (16.8 percent), wheat (7.6 percent), eggs (6.1 percent) and sesame (5.3 percent) having been in the product. One in four undisclosed allergens recalls cases involved a lack of information on multiple allergens (25.2 percent).
Another main driver of recalls in 2025 was Listeria. A PIRG report outlines how in June 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced recalls involving three ready-to-eat pasta products that were sent to Kroger and Walmart, following concerns of listeria. In September, there were new pasta recalls, also linked to the June announcement, with 15 further ready-made pasta products affected. By October 30, 25 people had been hospitalized and six people had died due to the outbreak. According to PIRG, the first illness was detected in August 2024. Researchers highlight the lag time before these recalls were issued and how Listeria was responsible for 21 out of the 22 deaths recorded in 2025.
Other reasons for outbreaks in 2025 included Salmonella (11.3 percent of cases), the discovery of foreign objects such as metal or wood (8.8 percent of cases) or lead being found in the food (2.8 percent). In 3.8 percent of cases, the food was found to have radioactive contamination.
The 2025 figures are higher than in 2024, when there were 1,804 people reported sick and 487 hospitalizations. That year, there were 19 deaths. These numbers are likely low estimates, however, due to the numbers only accounting for those who sought medical care and whose case was subsequently identified as linked to an outbreak. To put things in context, regulators estimate that closer to one in six people in the U.S. are affected by foodborne diseases each year.
In addition to long lag times, U.S. PIRG researchers warn that the FDA does not publicly post announcements for all potentially life-threatening recalls. This was the case for 17 cases out of 28 foodborne illness outbreaks recorded by U.S. food regulators in 2025, often because the exact product causing the illness could not be identified. According to media reports, funding cuts and layoffs to the FDA have increased concerns of food safety lapses across the United States.
