Are There Really That Many More Food Safety Recalls Than Before?

A Salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeños claimed another recall earlier this month, as Whole Foods Market began recalling guacamole, salsa, and pico de gallo dips sold in a dozen states. The recall, which has sickened consumers in more than 30 states, made headlines amid ongoing Cyclosporiasis outbreaks that the CDC said this week have seen 17,180 confirmed cases. It has also caused countless American consumers to think twice before consuming fresh produce this summer.

For the general public, this summer has seen an alarming series of food safety recalls, with every day bringing new reports of potentially contaminated items, such as the dog food and packaged chocolate-dipped doughnuts recalls initiated this week.

But is the food supply actually less safe than it used to be?

2026 in Recalls So Far

In the first 8 months of 2026, there have been 162 food recalls, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture data. This is roughly half the 320 reported in 2025.

2026 has also seen the FDA issue 11 public health advisories for foodborne illness outbreaks, matching the 11 issued across all of 2025.

The FDA issues a public health advisory when an outbreak investigation has resulted in specific, actionable steps for consumers to take to protect themselves. In every year between 2021 and 2024, there were between 9 and 11 advisories.

This summer’s headlines have been particularly impactful, but already in late 2025, Gallup published a poll that found that American consumers’ faith in the country’s food supply had hit a record low. According to the poll, 28% of Americans don’t have much confidence in the country’s food safety, and 14% have no confidence at all.

Is it the Scale, not the Number of Recalls?

Some experts argue that it isn’t the sheer number of recalls that has increased; it’s the scale.

According to the FDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, in 2025, there were more than 71,000,000 pounds of food recalled in 38 Class I recalls, the most dangerous classification. A year earlier, the FSIS recorded 32 Class I recalls, in which a total of 19,892,525 pounds of food were recalled.

Speaking to the Texas Standard, Dolores Woods of UTHealth Houston said that “We have had very large-scale outbreaks, multi-state outbreaks, that have affected a lot of people. This one ingredient, and I’m referring to lettuce, caused over 10,000 people to get sick. So, I think that’s the reason it feels like there have been more.”

In addition, because fresh produce doesn’t have a final kill step, consumers must rely on the safety practices of the people handling the produce at every step of the supply chain.

Woods also cited the jalapeño recall, which has felt so widespread to consumers because while they may be wary of jalapeños, they may not be aware that the same ones are used in a wide variety of ready-to-eat foods.

The impact of more widespread supply chains can also be seen in a recall in May of milk powder suspected of containing Salmonella. Because the dry milk powder is used for seasoning, it resulted in at least 7 separate recalls or health alerts affecting a variety of brands. As a result, the average consumer sees several recall reports in the media.

Budget Cuts and Agencies Stretched Thin

Under the Trump Administration, there have been widespread staffing cuts to agencies responsible for food safety. These have resulted in what was reported to be a 20% staffing cut at the FDA in June 2025, and widespread layoffs at the CDC.

Speaking to the Guardian in late July, Barbara Kowalcyk, an associate professor at George Washington University and director of the school’s Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security, said “It’s just symptomatic of the fact we have cut public health funding over the last two years to an area we haven’t fully funded to begin with.”

In an interview this month with News Nation, former FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas said regulators “have to work really hard to restore consumer confidence,” adding, “I also think we have to get better, let me emphasize, better at communicating which products are involved and which ones are not, because consumers are confused.”

Speaking to the Boston Globe, Harvard Professor and former FDA official Jerold Mande said “In the past there were really highly trained, experienced people, deeply familiar with all the details that would have been able to get the message out a lot sooner and a lot clearer than it’s been.”

FDA Head: US Food Supply “Is Safest in the World”

In early August, acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas told the public that the U.S. food supply is the safest in the world, and consumers should feel confident about eating leafy greens, despite the Cyclosporiasis outbreak.

Diamantas’ comments came a week after the FDA finalized guidance for manufacturers and processors of fresh-cut produce to help mitigate the risk of food contamination.

These measures include better hygiene practices for employees, stricter supplier verification, sanitary plant design, and more rigorous produce washing using antimicrobial substances, among others.

Rootwurks: Building a Food Safety Culture that Sticks

Your safety culture on the production floor is your first line of defense against food contamination outbreaks. The Rootwurks platform makes it easy to develop in-the-flow-of-work training that speaks to your unique needs, looks and sounds like your workplace, and keeps your brand out of the next recall headlines.