11 Biggest Food Recalls Of 2016 Slideshow

Canned tuna is a healthy addition to any diet and, when properly stored, it may last for longer than a year. But in March, Bumble Bee Foods issued a voluntary recall of its white chunky tuna due to possible pathogen spoilage and contamination. There were 31,579 contaminated cases distributed throughout the country, but, fortunately, no illnesses were reported. The company attributed the mishap to an "accidental deviation in the sterilization process."  

In November, Cedar Crest was notified that the cookie dough used in three of its flavors — Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Monster Cookie, and Pirate's Bounty — was contaminated with listeria. The cookie dough was manufactured by Aspen Hills Inc., the company that had been implicated in Blue Bell's major ice cream recall a few months earlier that spanned across 10 states.   

Even organic vegetables aren't immune to food recalls. CRF Frozen Foods recalled 358 different products from 42 separate brands, which included "all of the frozen organic and traditional fruit and vegetable products manufactured or processed in CRF Frozen Food's Pasco facility since May 1, 2014," according to a company press release. Seven people were hospitalized because of listeria contamination, which was attributed to the consumption of CRF products. 

As if people needed another excuse not to eat salad. Dole Foods, a company specializing in both fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, announced a recall of its prepackaged salad produced in the Dole facility in Springfield, Ohio, as a result of a listeria outbreak that hospitalized 12 people. 

America's favorite frozen waffle had a rough 2016. Kellogg's, Eggo's parent company, recalled approximately 10,000 cases of Eggo Nutri-Grain whole-wheat waffles in fear of a possible listeria contamination. The recalled waffles were distributed throughout 25 states, but no illnesses were reported. 

In June, General Mills, the owners of brands such as Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Annie's Organic, and Betty Crocker, recalled 10 million pounds of flour because of an E. coli outbreak. But by the time the products were pulled off the shelves, the outbreak had already sickened 38 people in 20 states. 

An allergy to peanuts can be life-threatening, and for that reason companies have to demonstrate extreme caution when dealing with a potential peanut contamination. Hostess Brands responded appropriately by recalling 710,000 cases of cakes and doughnuts in the United States and Mexico when the Food and Drug Administration tested peanut residue in its soft red winter wheat flour. The recall was prompted after two children with peanut allergies had adverse reactions after eating Hostess products.

Click here to find out the key to preventing peanut allergies.

Huisken Meat Company's recall of 90,000 pounds of beef might not be the biggest food recall of 2016, but it sure was one of the most bizarre. According to a news release from the FSIS, Huisken Meat, a major supplier for Sam's Choice and a private label owned by Walmart, recalled the beef due to contamination with foreign matter, specifically, "extraneous wood materials," which was also oddly found in Parmesan cheese.

It's easy to imagine how beef and poultry could become contaminated with dangerous bacteria, but curry powder; really? Oriental Packing Company, owners of brands such as Blue Mountain, Jamaica Choice, Ocho Rios, Oriental, and former supplier of Grace Brand, pulled 377,000 pounds of curry powder from shelves because the turmeric used in its curry powders was found by the New York State Health Department to be contaminated with lead. According the FDA, lead "can accumulate in the body over time and can cause serious and sometimes permanent adverse health consequences." 

Click here to find out why you should care about turmeric.

Originally, the Pilgrim's Pride recall was limited to a little more than 40,000 pounds of poultry, but the FSIS issued a second recall asking that more than 5 million pounds of product be removed from shelves due to potential contamination from "extraneous materials including plastic, wood, rubber, and metal." The Pilgrim's Pride brand of products is distributed all over the country to schools and other public and private institutions. 

Sabra Hummus announced in November that it will be removing a number of hummus varieties (53 flavors and package sizes to be exact) from grocery store shelves after listeria was discovered on equipment in one of their production facilities. Sabra Hummus, owned by parent company PepsiCo, noted in its recall announcement that the listeria was only detected on the manufacturing equipment, and none has yet been discovered in any finished products.  

If you're still a little nervous about store-bough hummus, try this basic hummus recipe at home.