The Biggest Food Recalls Of 2015

You may not realize it, but nearly every day a food product is recalled by the USDA. Most are relatively small, and wind up being fairly harmless for both the consumer and the manufacturer (aside from the financial hit), but some food recalls are enormous and can completely disrupt entire companies. 2015 had no shortage of big food recalls; these are the 12 most impactful ones of the year. 

In March, Kraft recalled 6.5 million boxes of its macaroni and cheese after consumers found metal in the boxes. No injuries were reported.

This was the second major recall by Kraft in as many years; in 2014 it recalled 1.2 million cases of cottage cheese due to a sell-by date printing error.

In April, after two weeks of smaller recalls, Blue Bell Ice Cream voluntarily took all of its products, including ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sherbet off of shelves after three people died from listeria poisoning. Health inspections found listeria bacteria in the cookie dough ice cream as well as in Blue Bell's factories.

The company spent months cleaning up their act and restructuring. It didn't begin returning to stores on a very limited basis until August.

2015 wasn't a good year for ice cream. In April, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, a popular small-batch ice cream company, recalled all products, suspended production, and closed all scoop shops after listeria was discovered in a randomly collected sample. 

Sales resumed over Memorial Day Weekend, but in June the company halted production for a second time after listeria was discovered again.

554,090 pounds of chicken from Sanderson Farms were recalled in September after metal shavings from a malfunctioning ice machine were found in the chicken; there were no injuries or adverse reactions. And in July, Barber Foods recalled 1.7 million pounds of frozen raw chicken after six fell ill with salmonella poisoning. 

In November, Tyson recalled 52,000 pounds of Any'tizers Fully Cooked Hot Chicken Wings after several people were sickened by them. In July, nearly two million pounds of Aspen Foods frozen chicken products were recalled after three cases of salmonella were reported, making it among the year's biggest recalls.

Seven percent of all the foods recalled this year were organic, according to Stericycle, a company that handles recalls for businesses, up from just two percent last year. According to the company, 87 percent of those recalls were driven by the presence of bacterial contamination instead of a labeling problem, which is even more concerning.

One example occurred in March, when spinach from five brands (including the one found in Costco) was recalled due to possible listeria contamination. 

In August, Oscar Mayer announced that it would be recalling a whopping 2,068,467 pounds of turkey bacon because the product was mislabeled, and could actually spoil before its sell-by date.

The recall was sparked when consumers opened packages of turkey bacon that had spoiled, but still weren't expired.

In August, Bimbo Bakeries, America's largest baking company, announced that it was recalling seven Sara Lee bread products, two bread products each sold under the Nature's Harvest and Great Value brands, and one each for the Kroger, L'Oven Fresh, and Bimbo brands. 

According to the company, they received three consumer complaints about broken glass being found in bread, which was traced back to a broken light bulb in one of its bakeries.

In August, Kraft announced that it would be recalling 36,000 cases of several different varieties of Kraft Singles after it was discovered that the plastic wrapper didn't peel away cleanly, presenting a choking hazard.

The following month, they expanded their recall, announcing that 335,000 cases were now affected.

In September, 90,000 pounds of Johnsonville Cheddar and Bacon Grillers bratwurst patties were recalled after small pieces of metal were found in them. 

While the source of the metal was unknown, thankfully no injuries were reported. 

In October, General Mills was forced to recall about 1.8 million boxes of its gluten free regular and Honey Nut Cheerios after it was discovered that some boxes that had been labeled gluten-free actually contained wheat flour.

Apparently, due to a rail service snafu, both gluten free flour and glutinous wheat flour were both delivered to a facility in Lodi, California, at the same time and were inadvertently mixed together. 

Whole Foods had a bad October. First, organic Roquefort was pulled off of shelves due to listeria contamination, and just a couple weeks later 250 pounds of pre-packaged curry chicken salad and pasta salad were recalled for the same reason.

While there were no reports of anyone being sickened, the company's stock slid more than five percent after the recalls were announced.

In November, an Omaha meat processing company called All American Meats recalled 167,427 pounds of ground beef that was believed to contain E. coli.

While the beef was shipped to retailers nationwide, thankfully no illnesses were reported.