A list of the most shocking things found in US food sold to millions of consumers last year has been revealed.
From bits of marker pen to rocks, there were 12 recalls impacting thousands of consumers which involved ‘junk’ or foreign bodies in our food, the consumer advocacy group US PIRG Education Fund found.
Some of the more serious incidents included the recall of Trader Joe’s’ frozen chicken pilaf because it may have contained rocks and another recall issued by the grocery giant over its steamed chicken soup dumplings for possibly containing hard plastic from a permanent marker pen.
In December, DailyMail.com reported on an urgent recall issued by the maker of MadeGood granola bars over fears its product contained pieces of metal.
A spokesperson for the Canadian-based company, Riverside Natural Foods Inc., told this website that the pieces of metal were ‘small, but large enough to be seen or felt’.
The FDA says that foreign objects in food that are bigger than 7 millimeters ‘may cause traumatic injury including laceration and perforation of tissues of the mouth, tongue, throat, stomach and intestine as well as damage to the teeth and gums’.
Other recalls highlighted the US PIRG Education Fund include batches of Kielbasa turkey sausages that contained possible bone fragments and pots of potato salad that contained potential hard plastic.
A list of the most shocking things found in US food last year has been revealed
Meanwhile, Texas-based ice cream brand H-E-B Creamy Creations also came under fire, as it was discovered some of its flavors potentially contained pieces of metal.
According to the US PIRG Education Fund investigators, two of the food recalls involving foreign bodies resulted in ‘minor dental or oral injuries’.
They note that the injuries could have been much worse, especially with materials such as rock, metal, and plastic lurking inside produce.
They add: ‘If someone swallows a piece of plastic or anything else that’s hard and not digestible, it could cause choking or a bowel obstruction or other serious problems.’
While they highlight that the incidents show there is room for improvement when it comes to food manufacturing processes, the recalls stemming from foreign materials have been on the decline.
There were 15 in 2023, 25 in 2022 and a whopping 49 in 2019.
In 2017, there were also 387 foreign object complaints filed by consumers with the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
It is unclear how many of these resulted in nationwide recalls.
Among the 44 injuries reported, broken or loose teeth and toothaches were the most common, followed by cuts, and choking.
Most complaints injuries involved pieces of bone and metal.
Touching on some of the ‘grossest’ food recalls in recent years, the US PIRG Education Fund investigators highlight a case in 2023 where pieces of hairnet were found in protein bars and in 2017, a dead bat was found in bagged salad sold at a Walmart in Florida.
Many food companies use magnets, thermal imagers, X-rays and other devices to help detect foreign objects in food, but occasionally items go unnoticed.
The food safety experts say that a big problem is that when a food safety problem is discovered, there ‘isn’t much done to make sure consumers find out’.
Offering advice on how to keep on top of recalls, they conclude: ‘People can be proactive by checking on recalls periodically (at least once a week) through the FDA and USDA web sites, or signing up for email alerts or using an app that provides real-time alerts.
‘In addition, it’s useful to sign up for any alerts your grocery stores use to notify customers of recalls involving products they specifically purchased.’
