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Are food recalls a scare or a comfort? Some say both
It’s not uncommon to see headlines about food recalls in your social media feeds or newspaper pages. But does it seem like Californians are getting more of them lately?
Over a three-month stretch starting in September, 26 recalls were issued for food products in the Golden State. There were 11 recalls in November alone, including for raw milk from Fresno tainted with H5N1 bird flu.
Recalls happen when food is found to be contaminated with bacteria, viruses or parasites, due to the presence of foreign objects such as glass or metal, or if packaging fails to note a major allergen.
“Experts say the overall number of recalled food products has grown across the country because the food chain has become more complex as food is often grown, manufactured, packed and distributed by separate companies, which leads to more places in the supply chain where contamination can occur,” Times reporter Karen Garcia explained this week.
Should we be worried? Karen spoke with experts who told her that the large number of recalls in a short time span is not unprecedented and speaks to advancements in the systems designed to identify and stop the spread of contaminated food among U.S. consumers.
“It’s a comfort and a scare because we don’t want to see recalls happening,” Sara Bratager, senior food safety specialist for the Institute of Food Technologies, told Karen. “But at the same time I would be worried if I was living in a community where there was not a single recall.”
Another sign of progress: Recalls may be becoming more frequent, but the number of outbreaks is shrinking, meaning fewer people are becoming sick or dying due to contaminated foods.
How does California stack up nationally?
Product management software company Trace One studied data from the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture on American food recalls over the last four years. The company found that the number of recalls grew more than 20% — to 547 in 2023 from 454 in 2020.
Nearly 4 out of every 10 of those recalls were issued in California, the company’s data analysis showed. Roughly 16% of all recalls originated from producers in the Golden State, “more than double the share of the next-closest state,” Trace One reported.
There’s a logical reason for that: California has the most recalls because it’s the largest food producer in the nation.
What’s the best way to protect yourselves from foodborne illness?
Karen outlined a few key tips:
- Wash your hands with soap and water before handling food.
- Sanitize surfaces and utensils that will come into contact with the food.
- Rinse produce well with water before it’s prepared.
- Use a food thermometer when cooking meats.
- Minimize cross-contamination by keeping raw meat and poultry away from other foods.
- Try not to leave food out at room temperature for more than two hours.
You can read Karen’s full explainer on food recalls here.
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This morning’s must reads
Republican freshman Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez speaks with colleagues in Sacramento on Dec. 2, 2024.
(Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)
This Latino Republican flipped a deep-blue California Assembly district. How did he manage that? My colleagues Anabel Sosa and Hailey Branson-Potts sought to answer that question. Jeff Gonzalez “focused his campaign on the Achilles’ heel of California Democrats: the state’s high cost of living,” they wrote.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Michael Mina’s Orla in Santa Monica serves Egyptian and Mediterranean flavors and offers a tableside dessert cart for a baklava-and-Greek-yogurt sundae.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
A question for you: What are your favorite holiday traditions?
Do you make your own tamales? Go on a special hike? Visit a certain street to see decorations?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might be included in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your great photo of the day
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Bodega Head, as seen on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2024.
(Dana Brock)
Today’s great photo is from Dana Brock of Sebastopol: Bodega Head in Sonoma County.
Dana writes: “Bodega Head is at the edge of sea and land, agriculture and aquaculture, the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, the majorly seismic San Andreas fault zone, the limit of westward expansion of the continental U.S. and the awesomely beautiful / dynamic / exciting / promising / sometimes-disappointing-but-never-boring / resilient / wouldn’t-trade-it-for-any-other-place-in-the-world great state of California.”
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Amy Hubbard, deputy editor, Fast Break
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